Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer has returned to individual training as the youngster ramps up his recovery from injury.
Collyer, 21, suffered a “small issue” three weeks which has ruled him out at a crucial point in the season for the Red Devils.
But the Carrington academy graduate was spotted in a one-on-one fitness session during today’s first-team training, suggesting a return to action is imminent.
The Manchester Evening News reports Collyer “went through a series of high-intensity running and mobility drills as he worked his way back to fitness, having missed a month of action with the injury.”
The 21-year-old will not play in Thursday night’s crucial semi-final first leg of the Europa League against Athletic Club in Spain, but there may be hope the midfielder could feature in the reverse fixture next week.
Ruben Amorim has settled on a midfield pivot of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte in recent weeks with the Portuguese coach not trusting the physicality of Kobbie Mainoo or Christian Eriksen in this position.
Bruno Fernandes has often been deployed deeper in midfield under Amorim but has returned to the forward line over the past few games to help the woeful output of the United attack.
This has left the midfield unit looking rather sparse in the absence of either Casemiro or Ugarte, though the return of Amad to full first-team training could enable Fernandes to drop into central midfield once again.
But the unrelenting Collyer, who combines hard yard with strong physicality, offers Amorim a different option in midfield, without being forced to move his captain and top goal scorer.
And the 40-year-old coach evidently holds the youngster in high regard with the Manchester Evening News stating Collyer was “beginning to catch” Amorim’s eye before his injury.
It even notes that when the Portuguese coach emerged before the start of training, he made a beeline for the midfielder’s one-on-one session, away from the other players: “[Amorim] walked well out of his way to check in on Collyer and see how he was getting on.”
United’s head coach will be extremely keen to add the hard-working midfielder back into his matchday squads as soon as possible with a season-defining week for the Red Devils on the horizon.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
