Manchester United teenage defender Ayden Heaven was stretchered off the King Power Stadium pitch following an ugly injury in a match at Leicester City on Sunday, and he’s provided an update on his condition.
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Heaven, 18, made a strong block on Leicester’s Patson Daka at the back post early in the second half as United would go on to win 3-0.
Heaven was immediately shown in distress just off the field, and the first trainer to get to him quickly signaled for a stretcher. There were no TV replays shown of the incident.
Ruben Amorim readied Toby Collyer to take the place of Heaven who has had a busy week and half-year.
Ayden Heaven injury news — Latest as defender speaks
The teenager posted on social media Wednesday to give a brief, but promising, update on his condition: “Thank you guys for all the support! I have read all your messages and I’m doing really well and recovering fast,” Heaven said.
That is very positive news and sounds like he could be available after the international break. He has impressed early in his United career and the hope will be that this injury wasn’t as bad as first feared.
Ayden Heaven injury update — Ruben Amorim speaks
What is the scope of the injury? “I don’t know. It’s sad. He’s a young kid who doesn’t know how to explain what he’s feeling, so it’s hard for us to know something. ... He’s a bit a little bit more calm now, but we have to assess during the week.... We will see next week. It’s hard to understand because, even when he’s on the ground, he can’t speak, he doesn’t know how to explain what he’s feeling because he’s so young. It’s hard to understand what he’s feeling.”
A shame because of what he showed on Sunday: “He already did that against Arsenal and against [Real] Sociedad. Today was the most difficult game for him because he plays so well against Sociedad, and we expect always for these young kids to relax a little bit. But he was so focused and he played quite well. Let’s hope for the best.”
Who is Ayden Heaven? Man United’s new center back purchase
A late September birthday, Man United purchased Heaven from Arsenal in January for a fee reported to be under $3 million.
The defender left Arsenal with just 10 minutes of senior football played in an October tie against Preston North End in the League Cup but has already worked his way into United’s team due to performance and injuries.
Heaven made his United debut playing 30 minutes against Fulham in the FA Cup earlier this month, then his Premier League debut off the bench over 45 minutes versus Arsenal last week.
His first start arrived at midweek in United’s triumph over Real Sociedad in the Europa League, and this was his Premier League start.
