Michael Carrick admitted he had to be “careful” with Mason Mount after the England midfielder handed Manchester United an injury scare in their friendly draw with Paris St Germain.
Mount has had a torrid time with injuries since signing from Chelsea in a £55m deal three years ago, starting only 25 Premier League games for United in that time.
The 27-year-old has been successfully deployed by Carrick in a central midfield role during pre-season, leading to speculation that United may not make another expected signing in that department.
But Mount played only 18 minutes of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against the European champions in Gothenburg before being replaced by Scotland international Tyler Fletcher.
“He (Mount) got kicked. We just wanted to be careful and look after him,” United head coach Carrick told reporters in Sweden.
“We’ve been lucky with injuries so far, so we wanted to be careful.”
Post-match video footage showed Mount walking freely on to the United bus without the aid of a protective boot or knee support.
United were stunned within two minutes at the Ullevi Stadium when Liverpool target Ibrahim Mbaye punished slack marking to put PSG ahead.
Bryan Mbeumo fired United level after 32 minutes following good work from Amad Diallo, the Cameroon forward’s third goal in two games after his match-winning double against Atletico Madrid.
United meet Leeds in a Dublin friendly on Wednesday before coming up against AC Milan and their former manager Ruben Amorim next Saturday.
The Red Devils open their Premier League campaign at Hull on 22 August.
PA
