Amorim handed injury blow before his MU debut as star limps off in national game

Ruben Amorim has seemingly picked up an injury before even taking charge of his first game at Manchester United.

The Portuguese was in Manchester this week to adapt to his new job as head coach of the Red Devils after leaving Sporting Lisbon in his home country.

He met some of his players in Carrington and saw the sights of the city while the majority of his players were away playing for their country.

That's because it's the international break and United players like Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho have flown around the world to play for their country in the final break of the year.

Not everyone has had this luxury – stars like Marcus Rashford have not been picked to play for their country – while Harry Maguire is recovering from a foot injury.

However, one player plays for Sweden but may have suffered an injury himself, which got Amorim thinking about taking charge of the club a few days after his first game.

Victor Lindelof was a bit player for United for most of his seven-year stay at the club and struggled to ever really cement a place in the first XI despite making 266 appearances for the Red Devils.

He will have been hoping for the chance to play a number of games early in the reign of Amorim, who is expected to adopt a system that will use three centre-backs.

That would be good news for the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs De Ligt, who would almost be guaranteed a place in the squad, while Leny Yoro returns from fitness.

That trio would likely be the first choice as a threesome, with the likes of Maguire, Jonny Evans and Lindelof as backup if needed.

But with Yoro out and questions over Martinez's fitness, it is likely that Amorim will have to tap these resources early in his reign if he wants to run the same system.

However, Lindelof limped off in Sweden's victory over Slovakia on Saturday, raising a potential concern for Amorim when his players return from international duty.

Lindelof was in the starting line-up for the Nations League match, which the home team won 2-1 thanks to goals from Victor Gyokeres – Amorim's number 9 at Sporting – and Alexander Isak.

But the United defender's night lasted less than half an hour and he had to be helped off the pitch by two members of the Swedish medical staff, casting doubt on his chances of playing in Amorim's first match against Ipswich next weekend.

Martinez has now returned early from international duty to meet new manager Amorim.

The 26-year-old was called up by Argentina to face Peru and Paraguay in their World Cup qualifiers but was ruled out after picking up an injury against Leicester City.

Martinez was still allowed to remain in Argentina with his family for the entire international holiday, but began the journey back to England on Saturday so he can start work at Amorim early.

His first step upon arriving in Manchester will be to undergo tests to assess the extent of the physical discomfort that has prevented him from playing for Argentina.