Manchester United’s academy is going strong despite the absence of arguably the most high-profile player, Sekou Kone, but that might be about to change.
Sekou Kone has been out of action since he fractured his eye socket in a serious injury while playing against Tamworth.
The injury was so serious that he was stretchered off, and the game was suspended altogether. And he hasn’t been in action since.
Now, more than two months since that injury, Man Utd’s U21 head coach, Travis Binnion, has given the latest fitness update on the Malian wonderkid.
Kone was primed for a breakthrough season this year after impressing Ruben Amorim in the post-season tour of Asia at the end of the last season.
With a gaping hole in midfield, the stage was set for him to break through and make good on the predictions made for him when he signed as a gangly teenager last season.
Kone was looking transformed, which is why the injury against Tamworth was so ill-timed, because it completely robbed him of all momentum.
Binnion has now said that Kone is nearing his return and should be ready to play after the international break as he resumes contact training.
Binnion said, “After the international break, we think he will be ready to play, which will be good.”
The timing of his injury was bad, but the timing of his return is brilliant.
Why Kone’s return is perfectly timed
When Kone was injured, not even the likes of Kobbie Mainoo were getting into the team, especially after the elimination in the Carabao Cup.
Now that he’s set to return, he is doing so at the perfect time for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the festive fixture list will soon be approaching, and that is always a busy time of the year for the league, which necessitates rotation.
Secondly, FA Cup action will begin in January, giving United an extra fixture to rotate.
Most importantly, Kone is in a position where he can afford to stay at Carrington, while his potential competitors for the midfield position might look to move elsewhere in search of minutes.
Someone like Mainoo will not be happy with playing the odd FA Cup fixture and 15 minutes in the league, but for Kone, that would be goldust.
If he stays fit, Kone can reasonably expect to not just make his senior debut for United, but stay in the first team’s plans for the six months from January to the end of the season.
Casemiro and Ugarte are destroyers, Mainoo and Fernandes are orchestrators. Kone, on the other hand, has a little bit of both, so he can be Amorim’s hidden ace in the hole.
What’s happened is now in the rearview mirror; Kone’s return couldn’t have been better timed.
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