Lingard fully fit for Man Utd after seeing injury risk backfire

Jesse Lingard claims to be “back to full fitness” and ready to step in for Manchester United after seeing an injury risk backfire prior to the international break.

The 26-year-old was among those to pick up a knock during an eventful Premier League meeting with Liverpool on February 24.

A hamstring problem kept him on the sidelines for three weeks heading into an FA Cup quarter-final clash with Wolves.

Lingard was called into action during that contest, in what was considered to be a calculated gamble, but subsequently sat out the start of Euro 2020 qualification with England.

He was then eased back into the United fold by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer off the bench in a 2-1 win over Watford on Saturday, but says he is now looking to claim a starting berth once more.

“I'm back to full fitness,” Lingard told MUTV ahead of a return to Molineux on Tuesday. 

“I think obviously the break helped as I could get the hamstring stronger again to come back and play the rest of the games in the remainder of the season.

“The Wolves tie was a risk. I’ve said that before but it was an FA Cup quarter-final and the manager put me in. It was still a risk and I needed that time out just to rest the hamstring and get it going again.”

Michael Regan

Lingard was unable to prevent United from slipping to a 2-1 defeat the last time they faced Wolves and is looking for an improved performance in midweek when a side chasing down a top-four finish go in pursuit of more precious points.

“It's all about setting the tone from the beginning,” he said. 

“We need everyone to do that. So, on Tuesday night, we'll see what the style is like.

“Ole is all about energy and passion and showing that fight. If the lads can do that on the night, then I'm sure we can win the game.”

United are also looking to raise their collective standard from the display put in against Watford on Saturday, when Solskjaer admitted his side were sloppy and Luke Shaw branded their second-half showing “awful”.

“We got the win at the weekend against Watford and the main focus is on Wolves and we have to exploit their backline, considering we didn’t really put them under too much pressure in the last game [in the FA Cup],” said Lingard.

“The start against Watford wasn't the start we wanted. We need to start playing forward more, playing quicker with a bit more energy about us. We must try to put them on the back foot and go from there.”