Man Utd midfielder Sekou Kone suffered a head injury in August but is closing in on a return to action.Sekou Kone is set to be available to play againSekou Kone is set to be available to play again(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)

Manchester United midfielder Sekou Kone is set to be available to play again after the November international break.

United’s Under-21s visited Tamworth in the National League Cup in mid-August, but the game was abandoned due to a head injury suffered by Kone at the end of the first half.

Kone was taken to hospital in an ambulance and the game had to be abandoned due to no replacement ambulance being available. He was discharged the following morning and continued his recovery at home. It was later confirmed that Kone had fractured his eye socket during the collision.

The 19-year-old was described as “fine” by an academy source in September, but Kone has not been able to participate in contact training, which has delayed his comeback.

U21 boss Travis Binnion provided an update on Kone, telling the BBC: “After the international break, we think he will be ready to play, which will be good.

“He has not been able to do contact, which limits the work we can do, but he is back in full training now and we will get a body of training back into him, with contact.”

The Mali youth international was making his first competitive appearance of the season against Tamworth. Ruben Amorim named Kone in the USA pre-season tour squad, but the youngster didn’t make an appearance.

Amorim named Kone in three Premier League matchday squads last season – against Tottenham, Everton and Nottingham Forest – without giving him his debut for the club.

United paid around £1million to sign Kone from Malian club Guidars FC in August 2024.

The Manchester Evening News revealed in April that Kone had settled into life in Manchester partly thanks to Tommy Rowe, who underwent intensive French lessons to be able to communicate with him.

Binnion also took French lessons, but credited Rowe for pushing hard to learn a new language.

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