Manchester United's potential solution is nearing his breakthrough

The count now is 15. Fifteen separate cases of injury or illness that have caused a Manchester United player to miss at least one match this season.

Three of them are, admittedly, international withdrawals. United supporters will have welcomed the breathers for Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad.

But United are a club that is going backwards before the clocks have gone back. Club sources have said Noussair Mazraoui's corrective heart procedure is, thankfully, not alarming and he is expected to be available within three weeks.

For the time being, United are left with one available full back again. The full back is, of course, Diogo Dalot. He has missed only eight United games in three years through injury since returning from an eye-opening year on loan at AC Milan.

READ MORE: 'You crossed a line' - dealing with United players over player ratings

EXCLUSIVE: Ten Hag expecting to take charge of United next week

Erik ten Hag has had to cope without a senior specialist left back for the best part of a year. Fans' patience with Luke Shaw has snapped but Tyrell Malacia is getting involved in team training warm-ups. Ten Hag's pre-season prediction of an early October return always seemed fanciful.

He uttered another prediction about another left back during the same discussion. It was the final question of our sit-down with him at UCLA: could Harry Amass play for the first team next season?

"We have to make progress," Ten Hag said. "But we all see here a potential where we have seen in previous years. For instance two years ago, Garnacho last season. We had it during last season with Kobbie, but he (Amass) is not that far now at this moment.

"But if we train him well, if we coach him well, then in three months it's