Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Matheus Cunha is available for Manchester United’s Premier League game against West Ham United on Thursday.
The Brazil international, 26, missed United’s loss against Everton and their comeback win against Crystal Palace with a minor knock sustained in training.
Before their midweek league fixture, Amorim confirmed Cunha’s return, while adding there were two injury doubts in his squad for the game at Old Trafford.
Amorim explained that Benjamin Sesko is also still unavailable after being sidelined for around a month with a knee injury that he sustained against Tottenham Hotspur on November 8. Harry Maguire remains out after picking up an issue in the same fixture.
“We have two doubts for the game,” the head coach said in his pre-match news conference. “It will change the way we are going to approach it. The rest of the squad is good. Matheus (Cunha) is back.”
Amorim praised the influence Cunha has but said there was still more to come from the forward following his move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer.
“He has more levels to go,” he continued. “He’s at a different club, different pressure, he was struggling because he was not scoring, he was thinking too much about the numbers but the influence he has in the team is important to us.”
Cunha has scored once in ten Premier League appearances this season, during United’s 4-2 win against Brighton & Hove Albion in October. Academy graduate Shea Lacey, 18, made his first two Premier League matchday squads while Cunha was out, and Amorim said he is still an option for the side.
“(I) try to explain every day how to play, if you’re comfortable and don’t have any doubts when you are playing, that will help the kids,” Amorim said. “Then to work the physicality, the speed of the pressure, the moments to have the ball and pass the ball is completely different to Under-21s.
“He’ll have the chance, I don’t know (when), but he’s ready to play.”
