Matheus Cunha provides fresh injury update ahead of Man Utd's trip to Man City

Manchester United face an anxious wait over Matheus Cunha’s fitness (Picture: Getty)

Matheus Cunha has dropped a hint that he expects to return to fitness in time for Manchester United’s upcoming clash with bitter rivals Manchester City.

The 26-year-old, who joined United from Wolves this summer, was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury just 31 minutes into the side’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Burnley last weekend.

Cunha was clearly in some discomfort as he was pictured hobbling off the field at Old Trafford, leaving Ruben Amorim with a potential selection headache ahead of United’s trip to the Etihad.

The news that Cunha had been left out of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for Brazil’s World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Bolivia only heightened the level of concern amongst United’s fanbase.

But Cunha reassured his followers on social media that he would be ‘back soon’ after the defeat of Burnley and the attacker has been putting in the hard yards in the gym during the international break.

After Cunha shared a photograph showing him head down on an exercise bike, the Brazilian shared another update – on Sunday night – which suggested he was making good progress with his recovery.

The Instagram post, in which Cunha is seen working with a resistance band, was accompanied by an hourglass and a dynamite emoji, leaving many fans convinced that the forward will soon be back out on the pitch.

Cunha shared a positive update with his followers on Sunday evening (Picture: Instagram/@cunha)

Cunha was forced off in the first half of United’s dramatic win over Burnley (Picture: Getty)

The Red Devils are also facing an anxious wait over Mason Mount’s fitness after the England midfielder was came off with an unspecified injury at the halfway stage against Burnley.

‘It was hard to lose Cunha and Mason Mount, because Mason Mount played 30 minutes with an injury,’ Amorim told Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle.

‘I’m concerned about that, because they are so important for us. We will see.’

Cunha has been working hard in the gym to get himself fit again (Picture: Instagram/@cunha)

At his post-match press conference, the United head coach added: ‘I don’t know [how they are], I don’t know. We will check them.

‘We need those guys really bad to be really competitive.’

Cunha has shown flashes of his undoubted quality in United’s three opening league games, especially against Arsenal, but is still yet to register a goal or assist for his new club.

Asked about Cunha’s injury, Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the Premier League, exclusively told Metro : ‘ We are looking at the same body area as Liam Delap.

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‘But potentially with what we heard and saw in terms of him [Cunha] being able to move around quite freely as he left the stadium, we would like to think it was a lower grade injury.’

Smith added: ‘A grade 1 injury is generally where there is pain and swelling but no or minimum fiber disruption.

‘So there is a minimal amount of the muscle that has become damaged or inflamed.

‘A grade 2 is there a small amount of fiber disruption so it means the muscle has torn slightly and a grade 3 is a complete rupture.’

United have picked up just four points in the Premier League ahead of their encounter with City, with Amorim’s men languishing down in ninth place in the table.

City have also endured an immensely disappointing start to the campaign and sit 13th after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Tottenham and Brighton.

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