Manuel Ugarte provides concerning fitness update, leaving Man United debut vs. Southampton in doubt | OneFootball

New Manchester United signing Manuel Ugarte has provided a worrying fitness update that could potentially make him a doubt for the club’s upcoming clash against Southampton.

Ugarte has yet to line up for United following his deadline-day transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.

He was not registered on time and so was not eligible for selection as the Red Devils suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss against Liverpool.

The midfielder could only watch from the stands as his teammates slipped to the defeat at Old Trafford.

During the international break, Ugarte played for Uruguay in both of their goalless draws against Paraguay and most recently, Venezuela.

In the match vs. Venezuela, he was a dominant force in the middle of the park as he gave United fans a glimpse of what to expect from him moving forward.

Despite playing the full 90 minutes against Venezuela on Tuesday evening, Ugarte admitted after the final whistle that he played while sick after suffering from a fever in the hours leading up to the game.

The 23-year-old told AUF TV (via Metro), “Now I feel a bit down but I felt fine during the match despite the heat.”

“Yesterday I had a bit of a fever but we drew and got a point.”

He added, “We always want to play to win and we are capable of playing to win.”

“It was an ugly match, I think we did not play very well. Venezuela are strong in this stadium and we got a point. Knowing how the qualifiers are, which are very complicated, it is important.”

The Manchester Evening News notes that Ugarte will now return to Manchester, where he will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Southampton.

United will certainly be hoping that their latest addition to the team is okay and will be available to Erik ten Hag for selection.

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