Man Utd sweating over striker injury after international training absence

Manchester United have been left sweating over the fitness of striker Rasmus Hojlund after he was kept out of Denmark training on Sunday.

Hojlund suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season which kept him out of action until late September, with the striker managing five appearances for United before jetting off for Denmark duty this month.

He was handed just 12 minutes off the bench as Denmark fell to a 1-0 defeat against Spain on Saturday, and now Bold have revealed that Hojlund was kept out of team training on Sunday.

There has been no formal explanation for his absence, with many speculating that it could simply be precautionary after his extended spell on the sidelines, but the fact Hojlund was handed a break after such a short outing against Spain will undoubtedly cause concern at Old Trafford.

Rasmus Hojlund has scored seven goals in 18 caps for Denmark / Etsuo Hara/GettyImages

Denmark manager Lars Knudsen had suggested Hojlund was ready for a significant role against Spain, and so his decision to limit the United forward’s involvement sparked plenty of questions in his post-match press conference.

“First of all, there is a striker situation where there is real competition,” Knudsen explained. “Kasper [Dolberg] is doing well in Anderlecht, Jonas [Wind] is doing well in Wolfsburg, Yussuf [Poulsen] played a fantastic match against Serbia, and now Rasmus is back as we know him, and he is skilled. So there is a sharp competitive situation right now.

“Rasmus is on his way back. He just played 60 minutes twice before entering camp, just three days apart. So we also have to change our minds in relation to him. But as I said, there is sharp competition for that forward position right now.”

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