Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed breakout centre-back Ayden Heaven was “not able to speak” after he went down with an ankle injury in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Leicester City.
Having joined from Arsenal in the January transfer window, 18-year-old Heaven had caught the eye in his first three appearances for United and was given his second consecutive start for the trip to Leicester.
Unfortunately, his first Premier League start would end abruptly after he was stretchered off early in the second half following a collision with Leicester’s Patson Daka. There were limited replays of the incident but Heaven’s foot appeared to get caught under Daka’s body.
Heaven looked in real pain on the ground and immediately signalled to the bench. After five minutes of on-field treatment, the young defender was stretchered off the field, much to the concern of Amorim.
“It’s hard to know because we have to evaluate during the week,” Amorim said of Heaven’s condition after the game.
“Even when he was on the ground he cannot speak and doesn’t know to explain what he’s feeling because he’s so young.
“He already played well against Arsenal and Real Sociedad. Today for me was the most difficult game for him because we expect him to relax a bit, but he was so focused.”
Andy Mitten revealed Heaven was spotted with his foot in a protective boot after the game but noted that the young defender was at least walking out of King Power Stadium, easing fears of a potential season-ending injury.
Centre-back is an area of concern for Amorim, who is already without Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Leny Yoro. There is hope that Maguire and Yoro will return after the international break in time to face Nottingham Forest on April 1.
