Jonny Evans was happy to return to action but admitted he’s not yet ready to make a first team return, after spending 10 weeks on the sidelines with a fitness problem.
The Northern Ireland defender played just over 60 minutes on Tuesday as United reserves, featuring Ander Herrera and Adnan Januzaj among the others, thrashed Blackburn 5-0 in the Lancashire Senior Cup but poured cold water on the prospect of an immediate return to the first team squad.
“It’s nice to get 60-odd minutes under my belt,” Evans said.
“But I think the manager will have to assess that [a first-team recall] and also the fitness coaches.
“I’ve been training for a week or two now, but it’s taking me time to get my fitness up as I’ve been out for so long.
“It [return to action] been a long time coming. I didn’t expect to be out this long, so I’m pleased to get some minutes.”
On Saturday, Luke Shaw became the latest player to succumb to a fitness problem, bringing United’s injury tally to a staggering 39 in the first three months of the season but Evans insisted there isn’t a straightforward explanation for such a wretched injury record.
“Players don’t get injured on purpose,” said the United defender. “There have been injuries with the odd hamstring or groin, there have been quite a few of those, but Rojo dislocated his shoulder and I had a fracture in my foot.
“There were a couple of other injuries – Phil Jones has got one that came out of the blue.
“We don’t want any more injuries but what can we do about it? They’re freak injuries and it’s difficult from that point of view.
“It’d be nice to get settled in the team – everyone in the squad wants to get settled in their position as well.”
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