Manchester United and England international Ella Toone has not played in 2026 after suffering an injury in December
Manchester United and England star Ella Toone pictured after picking up her hip injury in December
Manchester United and England star Ella Toone pictured after picking up her hip injury in December(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Manchester United Women's head coach Marc Skinner has confirmed Ella Toone should be back for the first game after the international break. The Lioness star has been out with a hip injury since the turn of the year and has not played since the League Cup quarter-final victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
United had hoped Toone would be back for the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday. However, Skinner confirmed the midfielder would be eased back into the squad after the international break, which runs from April 8 to 16. "The plan is, hopefully, the game after the international break," Skinner said.
"That is the aim for her, should everything go well. She is training on the field, she is doing individual bits. She will hopefully be back with more team bits soon enough. The aim is, and the hope is, we can get her back for after the next international break."
The Reds' first game after the international break is currently away at Tottenham on April 26. However, this will change if United manage to progress to the Champions League semi-finals. Skinner's side are 3-2 down after the first leg of their quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Pernille Harder gave Bayern the lead inside two minutes when she latched onto a through ball. United equalised 20 minutes later when Maya Le Tissier converted a penalty that was won following a handball. Harder added her second of the game on 71 minutes as she finished following a near identical through ball over the top of the defence.
This time, United's response was swift as Hanna Lundkvist headed in from a corner to level the game. With United seemingly set to take a 2-2 draw to the Allianz Arena next week, substitute Momoko Tanikawa stepped up to give Bayern the edge in the tie.
"What I know about this team is that they will be open and honest with that, and we have got another leg to turn this around and fix it," Skinner added. "I honestly don't think it is naivety, maybe a little bit of just a high-level opponent, and you have got to deal with that. We have felt that now. We are still in the tie, for sure, so we now need to go to the Allianz and win."
The second leg of the Champions League quarter-final is on Wednesday, April 1.
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