Manchester United wide player Patrick Dorgu made an impressive return to action last Saturday.
Injury woes
Dorgu missed 92 days with a hamstring injury at the start of the year, keeping him out from January to the end of April.
The Dane also picked up another hamstring problem at the start of last month and made his return on the fourth of this month.
He started on the bench before assisting Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee and scoring the equaliser in a chaotic final few minutes at Old Trafford on Sunday. United salvaged a 4-4 draw with Aston Villa in what turned out to be Michael Carrick’s last match in charge.
As a result of returning from injury, Dorgu was a late addition to the Denmark squad ahead of the international break.
Nonetheless, there still seems to be some concern in the Danish camp over the fitness of the United wide player.
| Competition | Apps | Minutes | Starts | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 6 | 199 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| UEFA Champions League | 1 | 72 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| All competitions | 7 | 271 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Speaking to Danish paper Tipsbladet, national team coach Brian Riemer explained, “Dorgu arrived and trained with the rest of the national team on Wednesday. He’s still on his way back. The fact that he got those minutes against Aston Villa and did a fantastic job should be taken with a grain of salt.”
The head coach added, “there are still some lingering issues with the major muscle injury he suffered. We need to make sure it doesn’t flare up again. We’re optimistic, and we also believe things will go well.”
Riemer also warned, “but he’s a player we need to be careful with. As for what that means in terms of matches and playing time, we’ll have to wait and see.”
The head coach basically confirmed that Dorgu would not be in contention for Denmark’s match against Portugal on Saturday, but was more likely to feature against Norway on Tuesday night. Even then, that would most likely be a substitute appearance.
He finally praised United for putting such faith in the national team and claimed they were in regular and detailed contact with the Red Devils over the injury.
The coach explained, “United sent Dorgu to us even though they know he needs to be looked after. That’s a huge vote of confidence they’re showing in our national team.”
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
