Man Utd suffer Matthijs De Ligt injury blow as Ruben Amorim rips up Europa League plan

Matthijs De Ligt's return from injury lasted a little more than half an hour as Manchester United were dealt a serious injury scare. The Netherlands international hadn't featured in the Premier League since the start of April after picking up a foot issue.

He returned in the second half of United's Europa League semi-final first leg victory over Athletic Bilbao and was in the starting XI to face Brentford on Sunday. However, after a clash with Bryan Mbeumo he immediately signalled for treatment and was forced to come off.

That meant Ruben Amorim had to turn to his bench - and Harry Maguire - on an afternoon where he had hoped to rest his big guns. Amorim had made eight changes following United's win in Bilbao in midweek.

De Ligt made his return to team training earlier in the week after missing six matches after picking up an issue in defeat to Nottingham Forest on April 1. After suffering a problem in the opening half, he completed 90 minutes but then missed the rest of the month.

After making his return in Bilbao De Ligt took to social media to briefly reflect on his return. Posting on Instagram to break his silence the Dutchman said: "Great to be back with the team on a night like this. Thanks for the support."

But now there will be fresh concerns over the 25-year-old after he needed to be replaced against Brentford. The ex-Juventus star was helped from the pitch by a United physio.

Amorim's rotation on Sunday saw the Red Devils start the match against the Bees with their youngest ever starting XI in the Premier League, with an average age of 22 years 270 days.

Asked about whether his selection was as a result of the Europa League, Amorim said: "It is really hard, because we also want to improve our [position in the] table.

"We want to win games. In this league, it’s really important for us, but we have to make a choice. And it’s not [just] about the players you put in these kind of games, it’s putting all these players together.

"And that is hard, not just for me but also for the players. But, in this moment, I think everyone can understand our choice."

The halfway mark also so Amorim rely upon his bench as Amad and Leny Yoro were introducted in place of Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw.

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