Man Utd sweating on Amad Diallo fitness after injury scare | OneFootball

Interim Manchester United boss Ruud van Nistelrooy admits the club must "wait and see" the severity of an ankle injury sustained by Amad Diallo in the 2-0 Europa League win over PAOK.

Amad scored twice in a player of the match display for United, helping the Red Devils pick up their first Europa League league phase win at the fourth time of asking.

The Ivory Coast international's improvised finish broke the deadlock at Old Trafford before a moment of individual brilliance saw him curl a terrific left-footed strike into the corner of the net - ending United's 13-month wait for victory in European competition.

But there was concern late on as Amad went down clutching his ankle and foot, with Van Nistelrooy withdrawing him from the action soon after.

Amad later told reporters: "I had a bit of pain on my ankle, it gave me a little bit of pain in the second-half, but it's not very bad," while Van Nistelrooy admitted that "he's being assessed" and a decision over his availability to face Leicester City on Sunday will come in due course.

The Dutchman was also full of praise for Amad's display, suggesting the 22-year-old had reaped the benefits of working hard on the training ground and in his personal life.

Ruud van Nistelrooy celebrates Amad's first goal at Old Trafford / Carl Recine/GettyImages

"He’s a great character, a hard worker, he shows it in every training session,’ Van Nistelrooy said. "So that attitude and also extra work. Every day after training he comes to me and he wants to do extra finishing, extra crossing, extra one-vs-ones, extra how can I improve my shot, how can I improve my heading, etc. etc. etc.

"He’s constantly focused on learning, getting better, living a very professional way so he’s very motivated to get the maximum out of his career. After so many games he didn’t start but he had a great performance today, so very pleased for him.

"I think the second goal had everything in it. That for me is Amad Diallo. He fought to take the ball off the PAOK defender and then he pushed through to get the shot and in the end he had the quality to bend it around the goalkeeper. So that sums him up."

United remain unbeaten in the Europa League, having drawn their first three matches, and sit 15th in the revamped league format which consists of 36 teams. The top eight will automatically qualify for the knockout rounds after all league phase matches have been played, with ninth to 24th to square off in a two-legged play-off to make up the last 16.