Manchester United's forgotten youngster is making progress after suffering freak injury

Dan Gore was up in the clouds when he made his Manchester United first-team debut in September last year but the last 12 months have been challenging for the youngster.

Gore joined Port Vale on loan in the January window only to pick up an injury in his first game and he encountered another stroke of bad luck shortly after returning to United. The midfielder dislocated his shoulder during a personal training session and required surgery at the beginning of June, which meant he was unable to travel to the United States for the first-team tour.

He finally marked his return to action against Doncaster Rovers last week. Understandably, Gore looked off the pace and rusty but he looked visibly sharper just seven days later when captaining the Under-21s against Hertha Berlin.

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United's U21s played Hertha in their opening Premier League International Cup game on Tuesday and Gore started alongside Jayce Fitzgerald and James Scanlon in midfield. Although Gore joined the academy from Burnley as a teenager and was originally a forward, he now plays in a deeper midfield position and operates like Frenkie de Jong.

Erik ten Hag famously pushed to sign De Jong from Barcelona in the summer of 2022 and likely sees similarities between the pair. Gore's debut was well-deserved and it's easy to forget how highly he was rated by Ten Hag before he left on loan and picked up different injuries.

At Moor Lane on Tuesday it didn't take Gore long to demonstrate he was closer to full fitness. He was responsible for some intricate play throughout the opening exchanges and linked up well with Ethan Wheatley, who could