Joshua Zirkzee absence explained and why he may not start for Man Utd against Fulham

Joshua Zirkzee will probably start on the bench again when Manchester United plays Fulham.   

The £36.5 million striker, 23, signed with the squad last month after leaving Bologna, but not begin exercising with them until last Wednesday after they returned from their preseason tour. Zirkzee, who plays for the Netherlands internationally, played for just four minutes during the European Championship and spent his vacation in Los Angeles, where United was based for their preseason tour.

Zirkzee was instructed to go to the club’s Carrington training complex on July 29, despite being near United’s tour group. He primarily trained with former coach Steve McClaren until his new teammates returned.

Despite being United’s lone senior striker, Zirkzee did not enter the game during last week’s Community Shield draw against Manchester City. Rasmus Hojlund’s hamstring issue will keep him out of action until September.

Ten Hag clarified, “I think one of the complications is that he is close.” “We need games to bring him because we don’t have a preseason with him.

“As you can see from his background, he had an injury with Bologna in the past several months. Ultimately, he was selected for the Netherlands, which helped him get through our first few preseason games.

“No games, then; that’s his current issue. However, after three weeks of training, you can see that he is getting better, that his fitness is increasing, and that he needs more playing time. We can’t give it to him in a friendly; the league must be involved.”

“I am so happy I have those (attacking) choices, that fit for all units, all positions, we need a number of players going into the season,” Ten Hag said, expressing his happiness at having so many attacking options at his disposal. We need squad depth and anticipate playing 60 games, therefore the winner will be the one who adapts the fastest.

“You need rotation and you have to make decisions. Not only is there internal rivalry, but no player can play every game, and you also require certain weaponry for tactical purposes.

“I’m glad we have those numbers and talented players to enable us to make such decisions. It is beneficial to have them in the team that we also have excellent players with a variety of skills.”