Fred has ‘balls of steel’ - how long will this injury keep him out of action?

Following news that Manchester United confirmed their signing of Brazilian international Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, there is confirmation that United missed out on anther rumoured target. Emre Can was occasionally linked to United, and given he was on a free transfer from Liverpool, it would have been a rare chance for a transfer between the two sides. However, Juventus had quickly emerged as his preferred and likely destination, and yesterday the player confirmed the move.

Following confirmation of the transfer, United manager Jose Mourinho spoke to explain what he thought about Fred as a player. He praised his ‘creative brain and passing vision’ something that a few of United’s players have shown evidence of already, but none of them are yet to produce it consistently on the pitch. That’s one defender and another midfielder - more is needed, and soon.

There is bad news, though. This is something that will be familiar to any United fans when it comes to new players. Fred is already suffering from a potentially debilitating injury, which sounds like it could cause him both real discomfort and leave him needing some pioneering surgery. Perhaps if there is ever a Being; United series on telly they will be able to follow Fred’s diagnosis, surgery and very moving rehabilitation. And what an illness it is! I’ve never heard of such a thing before, but according to this report, he suffers from a condition known as, ‘balls of steel.’ How that is treated remains up for discussion.

Patrice Evra was in a spot of bother this week for his reaction to Eni Aluko knowing things about football while he was on pundit duty for ITV. Evra came across a little embarrassingly, but has managed to behave since he did it, so it seems like someone has had a word, and he has listened to it.