Manchester United forward Hojlund to miss up to three weeks with muscle injury

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United forward Rasmus Hojlund will be sidelined for up to three weeks with a muscle injury, the Premier League team said Friday.

The 21-year-old Denmark international had recently found his groove, scoring in each of his past six appearances for United.

Hojlund will miss Saturday’s game against Fulham at Old Trafford and likely the following two matches — at Nottingham Forest in the fifth round of the FA Cup next Wednesday, then the Manchester derby at Etihad Stadium on March 3.

United said only that Hojlund has "a muscle injury.”

“It's a small injury, two to three weeks,” manager Erik ten Hag said Friday at a news conference. "That’s what happened, that is the risk playing high intensity, training. As I say, it’s not a big injury but he has to wait for one, two, three weeks.”

Hojlund's scoring streak has helped Ten Hag's team move up to sixth place in pursuit of a Champions League spot.

The 6-foot-3 striker joined United last summer from Italian club Atalanta for an initial fee of $82 million. Ten Hag had asked for patience after Hojlund struggled and the manager's trust has been rewarded with a seven-goal spree over the past six games.

Hojlund had already shown his scoring touch in the Champions League, netting five goals in United's six games in Europe's top club competition earlier this season.

He's scored 13 goals in all competitions this campaign.

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