Man Utd midfielder reveals injury ‘hope’ as he returns to training

Christian Eriksen has said he hopes to be back in the Manchester United team soon after recovering from injury.

The midfielder has missed the last seven games since he picked up a knock in the 1-0 win over Luton Town on 11 November, and hasn’t featured since. But Eriksen returned to full-contact training on Monday and is nearing a return to the first team.

“It was the first part in training with the team [on Monday] and it felt good, so it’s going well,” he told the club’s website. “I think it's always annoying to be on the side, no matter for how long and definitely now.

“When it takes a little bit longer than you wished for, then obviously it's hard, but no, I was eager to come back as soon as I could.”

“[We need] to make sure that everyone is personally fit and ready to go and then the manager obviously will take the decision,” he added. “The first aim though, is to be back, definitely.”

Eriksen could be in line to return on Saturday when the Red Devils travel to face West Ham United, before matches against Aston Villa (26 December) and Nottingham Forest (30 December) in the Premier League.

United have struggled for midfield options in recent weeks due to injury, with Casemiro not expected to be back until the new year and Mason Mount also not playing in the Premier League since that win over Luton. Bruno Fernandes’ one-match suspension against Liverpool further depleted Erik ten Hag’s options in the middle.