Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has revealed the true extent of Ella Toone's calf injury that will see her miss the upcoming international break.
Confirmed of the midfielder's injury arrived after the Red Devils' 2-0 victory over Leicester City last Sunday in the Women's Super League (WSL). Skinner said Toone had been sidelined after sustaining an injury during training earlier in the week.
She has since been ruled out of United's WSL clash with Chelsea on Sunday, as well as being absent from Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses squad for their upcoming friendlies with the USA and Switzerland. Speaking to press, Skinner confirmed he won't be rushing her back.
"It's a calf injury, so it's your running mechanism," Skinner explained. "It just affects you longer term. You have to balance those inflections. If we can get her back, we can get her back, but we are not going to rush her back in this moment."
United will return from the international break with three games left to play before Christmas, including WSL meetings with Liverpool and Crystal Palace, and a League Cup fixture against Newcastle United.
When asked whether or not he believes Toone will be back in action during December, Skinner was adamant that the club will ensure her rehabilitation is undergone carefully.
"We've got three games after Christmas, so there is always hope," Skinner said. "But, the projection is, she misses this, she misses the international window, she probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there."
Skinner also delivered more disappointing injury news, confirming the club will be without new recruit Elisabeth Terland this weekend.
"In the game at Leicester, Elisabeth felt a little bit of a groin tightness," he said. "She missed the game midweek, and will potentially miss the game this weekend as well, yes. Hopefully it's not a long term this, and after the international break she can come back and she'd be fit and healthy."
The striker was also subsequently left out of Norway's squad for the upcoming international break.
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