Reserves manager Warren Joyce has paid tribute to Davide Petrucci, who made his long-awaited return from injury in last weekend’s Lancashire Senior Cup win over Oldham.
The Italian has endured horrendous misfortune with injury since arriving at United in 2008. A pelvic injury in early 2009 sidelined him for eight months, before a relapse kept him out of action between January 2010 and last weekend.
A half-hour cameo against the Latics provided the 19-year-old with a welcome return to competitive action, and his eye-catching display on the left of midfield served a timely reminder of his brimming potential.
“It’s great to see Petrucci playing again,” Joyce told ManUtd.com. “The kid’s worked so hard over the past few months to get back, and he’s now had a spell of five or six weeks where he’s trained every day with the lads.
“Once things got a bit relaxed against Oldham and we went 3-0 up, it was a good time to put him on. I nudged him and said ‘just go and have that Zidane role on the left’, and he just looked at me and smiled. But to be fair, he picked up clever positions and I felt a bit sorry for their full-back.
“He’d had Gabby (Obertan) running at him for an hour and then he was posed with a different problem; not actually having anyone up against him, somebody in clever positions so he didn’t know whether to go in or stay back.
“I’m pleased to see him playing again, and I was also really pleased with how he played. He’s so smooth on the ball and comfortable in possession, and I was really pleased with how he did. He’s worked so hard and he deserves it.”