Erik ten Hag handed much-needed double injury boost as he fights to save Man Utd job

Erik ten Hag will head Manchester United’s Europa League journey to Porto on Thursday, and he has already got a much-needed update on two returning players.

Erik ten Hag has received a nice injury boost ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Porto.

Ten Hag is struggling to keep his job at Old Trafford after a poor start to the season, which has seen them lose three of their first six Premier League games. Sunday’s humiliating defeat to Tottenham has increased the heat on the Dutchman.

He now leads his team to Portugal for their second Europa League game of the season, after drawing with Twente in their first. Ten Hag has many reservations about his team’s performance following the Spurs encounter.

But he was also waiting for injury updates on Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount, both of whom were forced off during the game at Old Trafford. The entire nature of their injuries is now evident, and Ten Hag has received some much-needed good news.

Mainoo was sighted in training on Wednesday, having recovered from the injury he sustained against Tottenham. The midfielder was joined by Harry Maguire, who missed Sunday’s game with a slight injury.

However, both are currently in contention to play against Porto on Thursday night. Mount’s head injury has been verified as not a concussion, which is good news.

He did miss training, however, as United took precautions with the Englishman following his head injuries. United departs from Manchester Airport later on Wednesday, and their traveling team will be announced after they leave for Portugal.

Ten Hag will be praying for a good outcome at the Estadio do Dragao as he tries to maintain his position. The Dutchman is under intense pressure, but he stated after the defeat to Spurs that he is attempting to ignore the attention around his predicament.

“Of course, there is always a new game, a new day, and that is evident. You must learn as a team; it cannot happen twice in four days that the opponent’s defender can dribble over the entire park without being stopped,” he stated.

“Then things are impossible at elite football; you cannot make such blunders, therefore we must handle this. But we’ll come back. I believe we all took the choice to stay together as an ownership and leadership group during the summer.

“We also made the choice after a thorough analysis of what we need to improve as an organization and how we want to build a team. They are all making decisions together.

“But we also understood it would take some time due of way the window went; certain players, like as Ugarte, were late in, and we needed to incorporate him immediately. Also, we needed to enhance our organization, and we are still dealing with some injuries, including those from impact players.

“I hope we will improve there. We need some time. We are all on the same page, in the same boat, including the ownership, leadership, staff, and players. I’m not concerned about that.”