Diogo Dalot joined United in June for a fee of £19 million from Portuguese side FC Porto.
Manchester United fullback Diogo Dalot (Photo: Manchester United F.C.)
Manchester United’s new signing—Diogo Dalot—will not be available for the start of the Premier League season after undergoing a surgery in the summer, Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho has revealed.
“Dalot is injured,” Mourinho told his first press conference of the pre-season at the UCLA campus.
While the teenaged fullback, capable of playing on the left and the right, wasn’t expected to slot right into the starting XI immediately, his absence could complicate matters for United as they will be missing some key players at the start of the season.
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“We knew that but we didn’t want to lose him because of that. He is recovering really well,” Mourinho added.
Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), Paul Pogba (France), Ashley Young, Phil Jones, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard (England) are all expected to return to the club in the second week of August and hence, will not play a single minute during their pre-season.
In fact, the aforementioned septet are expected to miss the first match of the Premier League season as well.
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The 19-year-old Dalot has joined the rest of his teammates on the tour to the United States, but he is unable to train as of now, the Portuguese manager confirmed.
“We think he can start training with the team when we go back to England. He is not going to be ready for the start of the season but we think he’ll be ready for September.”
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United take on CF America on Friday morning (0730 IST) in their first pre-season tie of the summer.
Mourinho’s men open their Premier League campaign with a home fixture against Leicester City on August 10.
Dalot is expected to miss the entire pre-season tour and at least four Premier League matches, including their opening day clash against the Foxes.
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