Ruben Amorim provides Man Utd injury update and clears up Christian Eriksen ‘misunderstanding’ ahead of Everton clash

Ruben Amorim has reassured Manchester United fans that Christian Eriksen is ‘healthy and ready to play for many years’ after sparking fears over the midfielder’s fitness.

Eriksen was an unused substitute in United’s FA Cup win over Leicester before being left out altogether as Amorim’s men fell to a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in the Premier League last weekend.

Speaking in the wake of United’s setback, Amorim said that Eriksen was struggling with an illness and would have to be handled ‘carefully’ due to his ‘heart situation’.

Amorim’s comments immediately brought back memories of Denmark’s clash with Finland at Euro 2020, when Eriksen collapsed on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Given the horrifying scenes in Copenhagen had much of the footballing world fearing the worst, the 33-year-old’s return to the top – after being fitted with an ICD – has been nothing short of remarkable.

Amorim’s remarks after the loss to Spurs raised serious questions over Eriksen’s future in the game – but the Portuguese moved to clarify his comments while providing a positive update on his squad this afternoon.

Asked whether he had enjoyed a better week than the last ahead of United’s clash with Everton, Amorim replied: ‘Yes, because we didn’t lose players, we recovered players.

‘Chris [Eriksen], Mainoo and Leny return. With Chris it was a misunderstanding and I want to be really clear on that, also because of Chris.

‘He’s healthy and ready to play for many years in a high level. It was just my limitation in explaining the injuries and I want to let that be very clear.

‘I felt that the week is really good. I see things in training but sometimes it’s hard to pass that to the game.

‘But I feel that they are improving. Sometimes we cannot show that in the game but I hope that tomorrow is another opportunity to show a better performance.’

There was no good news regarding Amad Diallo’s fitness, though, with United’s top scorer expected to miss the remainder of the campaign due to ankle ligament damage.

‘Amad is out for a long time,’ Amorim added.

‘I think Mason [Mount] continues to make his recovery, Luke [Shaw] continues to make his recovery. I don’t have a day. Toby [Collyer] seems to be the closest one but not now.

‘Kobbie is recovering. We have to adapt to use the players that we have for the schedule.’

Everton have seen an immediate uplift in form since David Moyes returned to Goodison Park to replace Sean Dyche, with the Toffees winning four of the Scot’s opening seven games in charge.

‘It’s just the confidence. The way they play, they believe it a lot and they are winning games,’ Amorim said of Everton’s form under Moyes.

‘They are being really competitive so it’s an amazing job by David Moyes to recover the team and you feel it when you watch the games.

‘You feel that the confidence and the belief are there so it’s going to be a really hard game.’

United were today paired with Real Sociedad in the Europa League as the draw for the last 16 of the competition was made at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Swizterland.

But Amorim is keen not to look too far ahead, with this weekend’s trip to Goodison Park at the forefront of his mind.

‘We are in a difficult situation in the Premier League and we have a lot of issues to solve in every game,’ he said.

‘If I’m focussed on the game against Real Sociedad and thinking about trophies in the moment, it is not the right way to do my job in the moment.

‘I just focus and I want to win against Everton.’

Amorim added: ‘What I see in training is they are improving, they are creating relationships.

‘Even the sound of the training is different, but we have to use that in the game and we have to see in the game.

‘We have to take that step. I feel it in training that we are understanding the way we want to play but then in the game I see that we struggle a lot.’

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