Andre Onana injury update as Man Utd star speaks out after missing pre-season

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has admitted he cannot guarantee his fitness for the opening Premier League fixture after being sidelined throughout their entire pre-season campaign. The 29-year-old sustained a hamstring problem during United's first week of training last month.

This forced manager Ruben Amorim to rotate between Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton throughout their three-match American tour, which wrapped up on Sunday. Onana had been privately targeting a comeback for their final friendly against Everton, having travelled with Amorim's 32-man travelling party.

The Red Devils produced a lacklustre display as they secured a 2-2 stalemate with fellow tourists Everton in Atlanta, Georgia, though they managed to clinch the Premier League Summer Series trophy.

However, when the serious business begins for United against Arsenal on Sunday, August 17, Onana may still be watching from the treatment room, despite feeling 'great' before their final pre-season encounter at home to Fiorentina on Saturday.

"I feel good, I feel great," the Cameroon international revealed to Sky Sports. "It's been a few difficult weeks but yeah, hopefully, I will be back for the start of the season. I'm enjoying the training with my guys and we are looking forward.

For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express MUFC newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.

"If we have a good start against Arsenal, everything is possible."

Speaking last week, Amorim insisted that Onana would have a better season amid simmering speculation that the Red Devils boss wants to bring in a new goalkeeper as competition for Onana.

But Amorim's observations from training have poured cold water on replacement talk.

"I think even when you talk about Andre, you can see the goalkeepers," the United boss said. "Even Tom is leaner, he's a different goalkeeper. Altay did really well, and Onana is going to be better, like the other guys, this year."

Amorim's remarks aligned with his broader evaluation of United ahead of his first complete campaign at Old Trafford.

"I think are we better in every detail, in the organisation of the day-by-day," the Portuguese explained.

"The nutrition is better, the way we cook, what we eat, how we prepare training. I think that we are more organised. I think we have people now that help us to be better. I'm not concerned with small things and I was last year.

"So, those things help us and help me to think more about watching the game, watching the team. So it's a big help for me. When it's a big help for the technical staff, it's a big help for the players."