Matheus Cunha Breaks Silence on Fitness Concerns Before Man Utd-West Ham Showdown
Matheus Cunha used social media to announce his return to Manchester United training sessions before Thursday's clash against West Ham United.
A training ground head knock has kept Cunha out of United's previous two fixtures—the loss to Everton and win over Crystal Palace—and he was also compelled to withdraw from a scheduled public event during his rehabilitation.
Head coach Ruben Amorim recently expressed confidence that Cunha would rejoin the squad for the West Ham fixture, prompting the Brazilian midfielder to express gratitude to supporters for their continued backing online.
Amorim's projected timeline seems to have been on target as Cunha shared an image of himself returning to United's training ground before Thursday's encounter.
"Back back back," the 26-year-old announced enthusiastically.
Sesko, Maguire Still Out
While providing his most recent update on Cunha, Amorim revealed that both forward Benjamin Šeško and center-back Harry Maguire would require "a little bit more time" to heal from their current injuries.
Šeško suffered a knee issue before the international window during the match against Tottenham Hotspur. Initial worries suggested the expensive summer acquisition might have sustained a severe injury, but these concerns were quickly dismissed.
Šeško is anticipated to return to play this month, along with central defender Maguire, who sustained a hamstring injury during the identical fixture against Spurs.
Amorim will be keen to have the injured pair back in action as the demanding winter match calendar intensifies. United face six fixtures in December, with three of those matches to be played without Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui as they prepare to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The three players will be absent for encounters with Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Bournemouth before month's end, with matches against Leeds United and Burnley also arriving too early for their return.
Extended tournament participation could see any involved player miss the Manchester City match on Jan. 17, when the third-place playoff takes place, while conditioning must be monitored before the Arsenal away fixture one week afterward.