Leny Yoro has reportedly told those close to him that he is aiming to be 100 per cent fit for Manchester United's showdown with Arsenal in early December.
The Red Devils are desperate for defensive reinforcements with Yoro currently joined on the sidelines by Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire. Under-fire manager Erik ten Hag may be forced to field Jonny Evans as an emergency left-back against Brentford this weekend given the lack of options at his disposal.
United placed their bets on Yoro both for the present day and the future by splurging £52million to sign him from Lille this summer. But the 18-year-old suffered a foot injury in pre-season which required surgery to correct.
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Yoro went under the knife in early August and his recovery is believed to be progressing well. The centre-back posted a video of him running on a treadmill to his social media channels earlier this month, captioned: "On the way back."
According to GiveMeSport, Yoro has earmarked a trip to the Emirates Stadium on December 4 as a game he wants to be involved in. Given it will be one of the toughest tests United face all season, the youngster will likely need to bank minutes beforehand to get up to speed.
Yoro is expected to be back in team training ahead of the November international break. Matches against Ipswich Town, Bodo/Glimt and Everton could serve as perfect warm-ups before heading to north London.
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United beat Real Madrid to the signing of Yoro, who was a regular in Ligue 1 with Lille last season, despite starting the campaign as a 17-year-old. And the defensive wonderkid has no regrets about choosing Old Trafford over the Bernabeu.
"For me, [United] has got the most history, it’s the biggest club in the world," Yoro told TNT Sports. "And for me to play for United, even when I was young, it was the history, the fans, everything is big here."
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On what Red Devils fans can expect when he is finally fit enough to make his competitive debut, Yoro added: "I try to be intelligent on the pitch, to play with my head, to understand the game, the opponent. And to be calm. Be calm with the ball, when I defend.
"When I was at Lille, every weekend I was looking at clips of the striker to understand the movements, how he wants to receive the ball. This helps a lot."
