Man Utd forgotten man may be handed lifeline vs Leicester with Van Nistelrooy parting gift

As Manchester United interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy prepares for his final match before handing the keys over to Ruben Amorim, the Dutchman has the rare opportunity to help some struggling players – chiefly Mason Mount – start afresh at Old Trafford.

The 48-year-old is unbeaten so far in his three matches in charge and takes on Leicester at home again, having already beaten the Foxes 5-2 in the Carabao Cup. The return of Christian Eriksen will give him some depth in midfield, while Mount’s long-awaited recovery could offer a huge change in fortunes for both the club and player.

Mount came on for the final 10 minutes of the 2-0 win against PAOK as he got his first competitive run-out on the pitch since September. The 25-year-old had been sidelined with a hamstring issue, with muscle injuries hampering his time at Old Trafford.

Ahead of the clash against Leicester, Van Nistelrooy name-checked Mount as he listed the players returning from injury and hinted at his happiness at having him available again.

“Yesterday we had a lot of benefit from Christian [Eriksen] playing 30 minutes with [Manuel] Ugarte and Mason making his first minutes again, so glad they are back and for a little bit of a longer future that Luke and Leny [Yoro] are on the pitch,” he said.

From Van Nistelrooy’s comments, it appears Mount may be in contention to get some further game time on Sunday – and it could be the lifeline he needs to kickstart his stuttering career.

As harsh as it may seem, some United fans may have forgotten Mount was still at Old Trafford after managing just 224 minutes of action this season. In one way, though, his lack of games have almost come as a blessing in disguise.

It’s a lot easier to forget about a player’s underwhelming performances when they’re not playing. In Mount’s case, it’s certainly easier to count the number of positive displays he’s enjoyed as opposed to the negative ones.

The 36-cap England international has faced an uphill battle since getting injured in his first weeks in Manchester. From there, he’s struggled to deal with the expectation of United fans that comes with a big-money price tag.

When he has played, Mount has often flattered to deceive with only two goal contributions – one goal and one assist – coming in his 26 appearances.

Under his former boss Erik ten Hag, with the attacking midfielder often resembling a square peg in a round hole. He’s been deployed as a right winger, No 10, No 8 and even a makeshift striker – but none of those experiments paid off.

Ten Hag had been keen to coach Mount ever since watching him flourish for Vitesse Arnhem against his Ajax side in the Eredivisie back in 2017-18. But perhaps his sentiment overclouded where he could find a role for him in his team, given Bruno Fernandes’ taking up the No 10 role status and Marcus Rashford regularly playing from the left.

In fairness to Mount, he is not the only United player struggling – not by a long shot. Antony is rarely seen in the starting XI these days, while Casemiro, Joshua Zirkzee and Ugarte have hardly set the world alight since their respective moves.

The Englishman will be desperate to impress his new boss Ruben Amorim when he arrives for work on Monday morning at Carrington and, if given a chance from the bench by Van Nistelrooy, an impactful cameo against Leicester is a fine way to start.

There is no doubt Mount will have a chance to impress the Portuguese tactician, given his past exploits with Chelsea which won’t be forgotten. The only unknown is whether he will be fit enough to grasp it when it arrives.