Donny van de Beek steps up recovery from knee injury

Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek has taken a big step in his injury recovery by beginning ball work at the club's Carrington training complex.

The Netherlands international has been on the sidelines since the start of January due to the serious knee injury that he picked up during a challenge with Cherries defender Marcos Senesi.

Van de Beek later underwent surgery which ended his season, but the 26-year-old has made strong progress in his recovery in recent weeks, making a return to the grass at the club's training complex.

The 26-year-old has now been pictured undertaking ball work at Carrington, with the midfielder in the latter stages of his recovery from the injury.

The Dutchman is therefore on course to be available for the start of pre-season training, which is expected to be at the end of June, before the team officially start their pre-season in July.

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Man United will take on Leeds United in their first friendly of the summer on July 12, while they have also confirmed fixtures against Lyon, Arsenal, Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

The Red Devils ended their 2022-23 Premier League campaign with a 2-1 success over Fulham on Sunday, which saw them secure third spot in the table.

Man United have also won the EFL Cup this season, and they will be bidding to make it a domestic cup double when they face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Van de Beek is expected to be in attendance at Wembley, and he will hope to be given the chance to kickstart his Man United career next season under former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.

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The midfielder, who finished the 2021-22 campaign on loan at Everton, was restricted to just 10 appearances for Man United this season before picking up his injury.

However, Van de Beek had started to enjoy a run of matches before his knee issue, featuring in four of the team's five league games between November 6 and January 3.

The Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax in the summer of 2020, and he has represented Man United on 60 occasions, scoring twice and providing two assists.

Van de Beek's future is likely to depend on the club's transfer activity in the upcoming market, as Ten Hag is believed to be keen to bring in another midfielder.

However, there will also be exits in that area of the field, with Scott McTominay and Fred both being linked with moves away from the club this summer.