'Back on grass' - Manchester United give injury update on two first-team midfielders

Manchester United youngster Dan Gore should return from his injury in a matter of "weeks" and Toby Collyer has returned to training on grass.

Gore and Collyer have both made their first-team debuts and are regarded as two of the best midfielders to have emerged from the academy in the last few years.

However, the midfield pair have recently been absent from senior squads and Under-21 fixtures and are both recovering from small injury concerns that aren't serious.

Gore missed the start of the campaign due to suffering a shoulder injury in the summer but picked up a different problem shortly after his return. Travis Binnion provided an update on Gore's situation on Tuesday night and said he should be available again within a matter of weeks.

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The Manchester Evening News reported on November 1 that Collyer was expected to be sidelined for 'around a month' and he is on track to return after the international break.

After providing a brief update on Gore, Binnion revealed Collyer had returned to training on grass at Carrington this week, which suggests his return to a matchday is imminent.

"He'll be back.... soon. Days, weeks.... like it's short," said Binnion about Gore. "It's a short-term injury and he's been a little bit unfortunate, just like Sekou Kone tonight.

"When you're coming back you're probably at your most vulnerable so it's a case of him doing what Sekou needs to do - getting games, staying fit and then he'll be in a good place."

Binnion added: "Toby Collyer has returned to the grass this week, so that's a positive. These lads are good players, they need to get fit, stay fit and have a positive impact for the club."

Tyrell Malacia played his first competitive game for 517 days for the Under-21s against Huddersfield Town and Binnion praised the professionalism he showed around the squad.

"He's worked so hard to get back, he's trained really well and looks strong and fit. His attitude with the other lads was class," Binnion said. "He approached the game right, so hopefully he kicks on now because we could certainly do with him and he deserves some good fortune."

United's U21s were defeated 4-1 against Huddersfield, a result that condemned them to crash out of the EFL Trophy at the group stage. The youngsters had enjoyed a positive campaign in the competition and Binnion was upbeat on what the players would have learned.

"I thought for an hour it was a pretty even game," he said. "We gave a good account of ourselves and they're always going to threaten as they played eight starters from the weekend.

"They're going to be expected to get out of League One, so it was our hardest game to this point and we knew it would be, as they had to win tonight. I thought for that hour there wasn't a lot in the game and in the last 30 minutes they took over the game and got ahead.

"We struggled if I'm honest in the last period to stay with them and the changes we made didn't really impact the game as we'd like, but it's difficult for those boys coming on to change the match against a side who are in the ascendancy. We also changed the shape but it didn't impact.

"They're deserving winners. It's always great learning for our lads and across the three EFL Trophy games we've taken a lot from it. We had five points before tonight and coming to Huddersfield during the international break, it was always going to be a big ask but we want those opportunities.

"They're our best games. When you don't have the B team system that they do on the continent, we're desperate for these games and that's why we're disappointed we've gone out.

"But if you look at these games and our international cup games against Hertha Berlin and PSV, they've felt like tonight's game and they're very different to the U21s programme.

"We've actually seen that, we want those games and the lads will get plenty out of those games. Sometimes you come up short and that's the whole point. If we came here tonight and p***** it, then something isn't right. the league clubs approach it well and it;s a chance to get to Wembley.

"It's a chance to win some silverware and Michael Duff is a really good manager and Huddersfield have gone through. Doncaster and Huddersfield have gone strong in all their group games, they have shown a desire to progress to the knockout rounds and that's what they've done."