Erik ten Hag cautious over double boost as Manchester United manager promises response

Hojlund has been retired with a hamstring wounded sustained successful July's pre-season affable against Arsenal successful Los Angeles, portion Mount has missed the past 3 matches with a musculus complaint.

"It's precise bully quality they are backmost connected the pitch," Ten Hag said. "They are backmost successful squad training.

"We person to determine whether they are acceptable capable to commencement but it is precise pleasing they are acceptable and backmost successful the squad. We person truthful galore games successful this artifact to screen truthful precise happy.

"We person to marque the last call. They did a mates of grooming (sessions). We person to spot however they retrieve and past time we volition marque a last call."

Hojlund and Mount had their archetypal seasons impacted by absences aft arriving from Atalanta and Chelsea respectively past summer.

The second missed 30 matches successful each during 2023-24, with Hojlund absent for respective periods arsenic well.

Asked astir the request to beryllium cautious with the likes of Hojlund and Mount, Ten Hag said: "Careful and apical shot you ever spell to boundaries. It's not avoidable.

"But erstwhile you person a afloat squad disposable past it's easier to negociate the load.

"When you are successful circumstances similar past play and determination is simply a request to play, past besides you person to overload them. We anticipation we tin integrate them successful a precise cautious way."

United were beset by injuries successful Ten Hag's 2nd play successful complaint and they instrumentality to Selhurst Park for the archetypal clip since May's 4-0 humbling.

Ten Hag called it the "worst defeat" of a atrocious league play but the Dutchman is assured of a acold amended show astatine Palace connected Saturday evening.

"Not successful peculiar (are determination lessons from that experience)," Ten Hag said.

"We cognize what volition travel to us, we cognize it's ever tough, it is ever assertive determination but we cognize besides the circumstances and you can't comparison this.

"We didn't person a acceptable squad. We had adjacent one, 2 players that were possibly up to 20 per cent to play, but we had to play them.

"This clip is wholly different. We person present a acceptable squad, we person decidedly 18 players who are susceptible to spell into this bully situation for us."

Pushed connected whether it is the benignant of acquisition helium keeps astatine the backmost of his caput to guarantee it ne'er happens to him again, helium said: "No, decidedly not.

"It was clear, it was a 4-0 wholly deserved, but Saturday volition beryllium different."