When Manchester United emerged after half-time at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, there was some surprise that they did so without Mason Mount.
Despite Erik ten Hag’s side going in behind, Mount had been at the forefront of an energetic and effective United press that had troubled Brighton and Hove Albion, just as it had Fulham on the Premier League’s opening weekend.
And yet Joshua Zirkzee was brought on in his place, as he had been at Old Trafford eight days earlier.
Mount had felt something in his leg during the first half — not pain as such, but a sensation that did not feel quite right — so flagged it to United’s staff at half-time. A decision was taken not to risk a player who had started this season brightly after spending much of the last one out injured.
The severity of the issue was initially unclear. Mount felt it could only be a minor problem in the days that followed and there was hope he would be fit for Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool — one of the clubs who spoke to him about a possible transfer before his move to United.
But following assessments at Carrington over the past few days, Mount has been ruled out for four to five weeks with a hamstring injury.
It is a desperately unfortunate setback, one that echoes the hamstring problem Mount suffered in a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur this time last year — coincidentally, also United’s second outing of a new Premier League campaign.
That day, Ten Hag’s new £55million ($70m) signing played on despite feeling some discomfort, only coming off in the 84th minute. Mount missed the next five games, disrupting his start to life in Manchester, and that experience influenced the decision to come off as a precaution on Saturday.
Mason Mount’s start to the new season has been disrupted by injury (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Upon his return, Mount made a further 10 appearances in all competitions before a calf problem in November sidelined him for more than four months. After gradually working his way back to fitness, a 96th-minute goal at Brentford in March was his first for the club and, on an individual level, the high point of his first year as a United player.
But further fitness issues in the latter stages of the campaign meant that, in total, he missed 31 of United’s 52 games last season. Mount recovered in time for the FA Cup final win over Manchester City, helping United see out the final few minutes of stoppage time as a 93rd-minute substitute, yet ended last season having made just one start in six months.
The last thing Mount wanted or needed was another spell on the sidelines, especially after working hard over the summer to be ready for the new season.
Before the nature of Mount’s latest injury was known, The Athletic spoke to sources at United and close to Mount — all of whom wanted to remain anonymous as they did not have permission to talk — to assess his prospects ahead of a defining campaign.
There is no one prevailing view on how Mount’s struggles last season affected him personally. One view among Mount’s associates is that his injury troubles complicated his adaptation to life in Manchester after 18 years as a Chelsea player; others stress that he remained positive throughout and leaned on the strong support network of family and friends that he has around him.
Having come through those frustrations and following last season’s false dawn, the 25-year-old has approached the new campaign as a chance for a fresh start. After missing out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the European Championship, this summer presented an opportunity for Mount to first rest and then reset.
Mount made a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix the day after United’s victory at Wembley, attending with former Chelsea team-mate Ben Chilwell, then took a rare chance to be part of a family holiday in Greece. Yet his preparations for the new season were under way.
After returning from holiday, Mount underwent a 10-day personal training camp in Portugal, which he organised and paid for, to ensure he would report back to United in the optimum condition. Members of his personal team travelled out with him and kept club staff back in Manchester abreast of his regime and progress ahead of his return to Carrington on July 8.
That added preparation helped him emerge as one of the standout performers on United’s pre-season tour of the United States. Figures close to Mount say he returned from the tour feeling as though the frustrations of the past year were now behind him.
Mount stressed the importance of “keeping on it, keeping training, trying to stay active and not take too much time off” while speaking to United’s in-house media in the States. “You’ve got to prepare for the season and have to be in the best position going into pre-season,” he said. “I felt it was a perfect break for me.”
That was a rare example of Mount speaking publicly since becoming a United player, having otherwise kept a relatively low profile and taken on few media commitments. If that is somewhat surprising for one of the squad’s most established names and an England international, it would also be understandable if he wanted his performances to do the talking first.
Up until his substitution at Brighton, Mount had been doing just that. For the second week running, United looked like a more effective and cohesive unit when Mount was on the pitch, particularly out of possession.
At Carrington, Mount is viewed as one of the players in Ten Hag’s squad most adept at setting the press. His energy and willingness to chase down opponents is seen as well-suited to the more proactive out-of-possession approach United have adopted at the start of this season.
Mount, for his part, is said to enjoy working for the team in this manner and that willingness to run the hard yards is reflected in the data.
According to Opta, his 48.4 pressures per 90 minutes is the most of any Premier League player after this season’s opening two rounds of fixtures. Bruno Fernandes, Mount’s fellow false nine in United’s 4-2-2-2 system, is not far behind on 41.5. Together, the pair make up two of the top six across the league for pressures in the final third.
Mount also leads the way across the league on ‘aggressive actions’, according to StatsBomb data. No other Premier League player has attempted more defensive actions within two seconds of an opponent receiving the ball.
All this is drawn from a tiny sample size, but then, according to Opta, Mount’s 27 pressures per 90 last season was the third-most among the United squad, with only Rasmus Hojlund and Fernandes harrying opponents more. And though time will tell whether United’s more proactive approach persists this season, it is notable that both Mount and Fernandes’ pressing numbers have spiked compared to last.
Mount and Fernandes’ pressing numbers have spiked (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Pressing a lot does not necessarily mean pressing well, though, and elements of United’s out-of-possession still require fine-tuning. Mount and Fernandes’ partnership as false nines is in its embryonic stages and the success of Ten Hag’s approach is dependent on every player fulfilling their role in the system, not just the front two.
The early evidence suggests United look like a better and more effective pressing unit when Mount is on the pitch. Now, Ten Hag will not be able to rely on his selfless running. Circumstances may dictate a tactical rethink. However United adapt to his absence, Mount’s presence will be missed.
The injury is also a blow to Mount’s efforts to become a guaranteed starter under Ten Hag. As integral as he has been to United’s play out of possession in their opening games this season, he had not quite cemented his place even before Saturday’s setback. In each of United’s three outings, he was sacrificed when Ten Hag sought to change things.
Mount’s substitution against Brighton may have been enforced, but he was also brought off as part of Ten Hag’s first set of changes against Fulham. His number came up just before the hour mark in the Community Shield against Manchester City, too.
Each of those substitutions came at a point when United were either level or behind and although Ten Hag’s side have still created plenty of opportunities with Mount in the side, all three goals United have scored so far this season have come after he has been replaced.
There remains some debate over where Mount fits into United’s strongest starting line-up — and whether he fits into it at all. Some at Carrington admit his exact role is still being figured out.
United signed Mount with the intention of predominantly deploying him as an energetic, mobile No 8 in the centre of midfield. His first appearances under Ten Hag, either side of that disruptive hamstring injury last August, came in such a role alongside Casemiro.
Yet the last time he started in that position alongside Casemiro was the 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup back in November. What was expected to be United’s first-choice midfield pairing upon Mount’s arrival has not played together there since, after a grand total of seven outings.
Casemiro and Mount have barely played together for United (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Kobbie Mainoo’s recovery from a knee injury coincided with Mount’s lengthy mid-season lay-off and the 19-year-old’s performances since last November have established him as a regular starter.
While playing Mainoo and Mount together is not beyond the realm of possibility, neither player is predominantly defensive-minded and pairing one with either Casemiro or the incoming Manuel Ugarte would offer greater balance and protection.
Mount has appeared better suited to the false-nine role he is currently occupying in any case, but with Zirkzee gaining match fitness and Hojlund recovering from a hamstring injury, Ten Hag will soon have two established centre-forwards to pick from. Whether he persists with the 4-2-2-2 setup remains to be seen.
“We need rotation, we need all the players in the squad, so you can’t talk about starting XI,” Ten Hag said on the subject of Mount’s best position last week. “Last season he was injured, so he didn’t play so many roles. He is versatile, we can use him in more than one position. It will always be more attacking positions than defensive ones.”
Ten Hag also described Mount as “multi-functional” on the pre-season tour and his ability to play several different roles can only be considered a positive. But as the United manager intimated last week, there is an expectation that Mount will predominantly compete for a place either as one of the false nines in United’s current 4-2-2-2 setup, out wide or as a No 10.
Erik ten Hag sees Mount as a versatile option (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Competition in those areas of the pitch is fierce, with United having several options on either flank and Fernandes practically ever-present as captain. Minutes could be hard to come by, regular starts even more so.
There is still a way to go before Mount is back to being guaranteed a place at club level then, let alone internationally. His last England appearance came in the quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup and even without this injury, Mount’s difficulties over the past year meant it would have been a surprise if he had been named as part of interim head coach Lee Carsley’s first England squad on Thursday.
Mount’s priority has been to prove himself in a United shirt, though, in the belief that an international recall will follow. Despite only managing 162 minutes over United’s last three games, he demonstrated he can be relied upon to be a busy presence both in and out of possession.
Mount was said to have come away from both pre-season and United’s opening games feeling that he had played well and benefited from his additional work over the summer. But despite his best efforts on and off the pitch, an Old Trafford career beset by unfortunate setbacks now has another to overcome.
(Top photo: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)