Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has doubled down on his admiration for Mason Mount, who will not be rushed as he closes on a return after three months out injured.
The 26-year-old limped off in the early exchanges of December's Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium having impressed Amorim in the early weeks of his tenure.
It was the latest setback in what's been a frustrating 19 months for Mount. The former Chelsea midfielder has played just 22 Premier League games for the Red Devils because of various injuries a significant blow for United considering they forked out �55m for his services.
Amorim has previously spoken of his "love" for Mount, who is expected to be in United's squad for Sunday's Premier League clash with Leicester City after returning to training, and the former Sporting CP boss again spoke fondly of the 36-cap England international in his pre-match press conference.
"I really love Mason Mount," Amorim said. "I see him and know how he suffered. I know how he does everything right - he eats right, his physical aspect is perfect. He's trying too much. Maybe he is thinking too much about everything.
"He was a European champion, he is a talent. When a player does everything like he does, he will always have the support of everybody here at the club. We will try to manage the load.
"We need players like Mason Mount. I think he will be on the bench, we will see. We need him and every player. If he is fit I will take him. He cannot play too many minutes but just five minutes of Mason Mount is perfect."
Amorim: Mount's return to action will be very slow
Mount has been restricted to just 403 minutes of football across all competitions, with his troublesome thigh injury following a hamstring issue early in the season.
Amorim acknowledged United's current workload and other injuries, as well as the tiredness of some of his fit players, and confirmed Mount will be eased back into the fold in the hope of preventing a future breakdown.
"With the different competitions, we have to rotate," Amorim said. "We are risking some players. For example, Casemiro, he was so tired.
"We didn't want to risk Ugarte [against Real Sociedad]. Because today was a decision: in one competition, Ugarte wanted to stay here. We have Mason Mount who will return really slow, Kobbie [Mainoo] will maybe return in a few weeks, I don't know for sure.
"Harry Maguire, who we tried not to risk, we will see for Sunday. We need all the players and I think against Lyon [in the Europa League quarter-finals] it will be a different kind of game. The physicality is going to be a different game, more demanding in that aspect and we have a lot of difficult games in the Premier League."
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