Amad, Heaven, De Ligt – Man United injury news and return dates before Bournemouth and Athletic Bilbao

Next up for Manchester United is Bournemouth before the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.

There’s no getting away from the fact this weekend’s clash with Bournemouth is little more than a warm-up for Thursday’s huge clash with Athletic Bilbao.

The trip to the south coast will be a useful run-out to the Manchester United players who were rested against Wolves last time out. Players like Casemiro and Harry Maguire are expected to be handed some game time to avoid being off the pace by the time the clash with Bilbao comes around.

Ruben Amorim’s options have been depleted due to injuries throughout his time at the club but the treatment room at Carrington is looking much better than it has done at points this season.

Ahead of the clashes with Bournemouth and Athletic Bilbao, here is all the very latest on the United injury front…

De Ligt turned his ankle in the closing stages of the first half of United’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this month and he has not featured since, despite playing on until the end at the City Ground.

Issuing an update on the Dutchman last Wednesday, Amorim said: “Matta is going to return still this season.”

Ayden Heaven

Injury: knock

After missing United’s first three games after the March international break, Heaven was back in the squad against Newcastle United, being named among the substitutes.

However, he has not featured in any of United’s matchday squads since then as a result of suffering a “small setback”, according to club sources.

Issuing an update on the former Arsenal man, Amorim said: “He had a small issue in the same spot during training, a contact with a teammate.”

Martinez is a long-term absentee after rupturing his ACL in United’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at the start of February. He soon underwent successful surgery and is continuing with his recovery.

United have not put a specific timeframe on how long he will be out for, but he will not play again this season. ACL injuries usually take around six months to fully recover from.

Toby Collyer

Injury: leg

Collyer has suffered an injury that is not thought to be serious. “Toby has a small issue in his leg,” said Amorim, speaking recently. “We hope to have him in a few weeks.”

Amad

Injury: ankle

United lost Amad to an ankle injury prior to February’s Premier League defeat to Tottenham and Amorim admitted he expected to be without him for the rest of the season.

However, the United boss admitted last month he may be back before the end of the season, saying: “Even Amad, we will see in the end of the last month. I don’t want to say anything but I have the hope to have Amad before the end of the season.”

The Ivorian has since posted updates on social media to share his progress. He trained alone at Carrington last week before Amorim reaffirmed his hope that he will return before the end of the campaign.

He said: “Amad is not ready for this month but we hope to have Amad still for this season.”