Jose Mourinho says Diogo Dalot is poised to make his Premier League bow for Manchester United in Saturday's Premier League meeting with Southampton.
Injuries have restricted Dalot to just two appearances in other competitions since his summer arrival from FC Porto but the Portuguese youngster has already shown flashes of his potential, putting in a solid defensive display during September's 3-0 win at Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League before providing an assist for Marouane Fellaini in the Carabao Cup clash against Derby County.
Speaking to MUTV's Stewart Gardner, Mourinho confirmed the 20-year-old is now back to full fitness and ready to help fill the void left by defensive absentees Victor Lindelof, Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian.
“Players must be ready and in this case some are going away to the medical room and others are coming back,”
explained the Reds boss. “For example, this weekend will be the first call for Dalot. He's ready now.
”He had an important injury and then surgery, and then a second injury with the national team [Portugal Under-21s] when he was already playing against Young Boys and Derby County. When he was almost there, he was injured for the national team but now he’s had two weeks of training and we think he’s ready now.“
It's been a breakthrough year for Dalot, who only made his top-flight debut for former club Porto in February before completing a move to Old Trafford at the beginning of June.
He recently pinpointed his new manager as the key motivator behind the switch and will be hoping to repay the faith shown in him with another impressive performance when United take on the Saints in Saturday's 17:30 GMT kick-off.