Manchester United loanee given positive injury update after fears allayed

Manchester United goalkeeper Radek Vitek is expected to be fit within the next month after fears he had suffered a serious knee injury during a loan spell in Austria were allayed.

The 20-year-old is highly rated at Carrington and after starting pre-season impressively with United he secured a season-long loan move to Austrian Bundesliga outfit Blau-Weiss Linz, keeping two clean sheets in his first three games.

But Vitek dropped out of the squad to face SCR Altach last Sunday after suffering what was initially feared to be a cruciate and medial ligament knee injury. However, the Czech Republic youngster is staying with his loan club for treatment and is now only expected to be out for a few weeks.

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That is a major boost for the goalkeeper, who was outstanding in United's first pre-season friendly of the summer against Rosenborg in Norway. That followed a productive loan spell with Accrington Stanley in the second half of last season when he played 18 games in League Two.

There was interest from higher up the EFL pyramid over a loan deal this summer but Vitek agreed the move to Linz in August. They were only formed in 1997 but have risen rapidly through the leagues in Austria. Last season was their first in the top division and they are fourth in the early stages of this campaign.

Vitek was the goalkeeper during United's FA Youth Cup winning campaign in 2022 and caught the eye in the final against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford. He went on the pre-season tour of the United States this summer before his loan departure.