Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says patience is required to get the best out of Mason Mount as the England midfielder prepares for a first return to boyhood club Chelsea on Thursday.
Mount, 25, swapped Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford in the summer in a £55 million deal but has struggled for form and fitness at his new club.
He did, however, mark his latest return to first-team action with a goal from the bench in an otherwise dismal 1-1 draw at Brentford for Ten Hag's side.
Despite having an injury-ravaged squad to pick from, the Dutch coach says he will be careful not to overload Mount as the midfielder seeks to rediscover the form that made him a fans' favourite at Chelsea and earned him 36 caps for the Three Lions.
Mount came through the academy at Stamford Bridge and was part of the team that won the Champions League in 2021 before his acrimonious summer departure when, with just a year left on his contract, he headed for the exit having failed to agree fresh terms.
“He’s a fantastic football player but it’s important first that he is getting and keeping fit because he has had three injuries,” said Ten Hag on Wednesday.
“You see it now with Licha (Lisandro Martinez), so another injury, so you want to avoid and we have to do this carefully.
“This is the first objective, to keep him fit. Of course, at the same time we want to use him so that he can benefit and contribute to the team like he did on Saturday when he had a big impact."
Meanwhile, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans look set to bolster United’s beleaguered backline for the game. The Red Devils have been besieged by issues, with Victor Lindelof becoming the latest player to pick up a muscle injury.
The Sweden international’s hamstring issue in the 1-1 draw against the Bees is set to keep him out for at least a month, with his replacement Lisandro Martinez facing a similar absence after sustaining a calf complaint in training.
Those problems compound the absence of fellow defenders Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, but Ten Hag is hopeful that Varane – who went off at half-time on Saturday – and recently injured Evans will be fit to face Chelsea.
“No more issues – we don’t need [any more]!” the United manager said ahead of Thursday’s match. “On the front line and in midfield we are OK, we have options there.
“But in the backline we have a lack of options, but the good thing is back in training this afternoon is Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans. And Harry Maguire was already yesterday back in training.”
United are rank outsiders in the race for Champions League qualification but visit a Chelsea side in even worse shape than them.
The West London club are down in 12th place having struggled to draw with Burnley last time out. A section of the fans continue to boo manager Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Todd Boehly, while chanting in favour of ex-managers Jose Mourinho and Thomas Tuchel and former owner Roman Abramovich.
Pochettino, who criticised his team's display in their 2-2 draw with the Clarets, says they must start to "behave like Chelsea".
He said: "We were talking a lot during the game, and after the game, during these few days. I agree with you on the body language.
"We see it ourselves from the beginning of the game. We are Chelsea, but we need to behave like Chelsea, we need to behave like we want to belong to a big club.
"It's not an excuse to be a young or inexperienced player. We need to defend our badge and to play for our club and to perform. We need to perform. I try to describe after the game in my press conference our feelings and I think in the next few days, I started to realise here in the training ground in the day after.
"We talk about potentially amazing players, when we talk about big players, they are young and need to realise they need to improve so quick."
