Some members of the media were bemoaning the injury suffered by Teden Mengi as Manchester United lost 1-0 to Real Betis in a friendly on Saturday evening.

The Lowdown: Preparations underway

Preparations are now underway for Erik ten Hag and his side to return to Premier League football, having arranged friendly games during the break for the World Cup in Qatar to get themselves back up to match fitness and sharpness.

The Old Trafford outfit went down 1-0 thanks to a Nabil Fekir goal early in the second half, but the fixture gave an opportunity for Ten Hag to look at some of the youngsters in the academy, as well as first-team squad members not at the World Cup.

The Latest: Mengi injury

Mengi was forced off with a hamstring injury early in the first half, which The Times journalist Charlotte Duncker labelled as 'bad news'.

Manchester Evening News reporter Rich Fay described the injury as 'awful', citing that Mengi has had 'rotten luck' in that regard having had to be carried off on a stretcher, adding that the 20-year-old defender was 'set to leave on loan' in the January transfer window.

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The Verdict: Not ideal

The revelation that Mengi was set to leave on loan means that this latest injury is certainly not ideal for him or United.

The youngster has gained valuable experience on loan at Derby County and Birmingham City previously and has also played 79 times at youth level with the Red Devils, but he has only made two competitive appearances for the senior team (Transfermarkt).

The problem that Mengi has had is being able to keep himself fit, and the fact that he has had hamstring issues in the past makes this latest setback all the more worrying.

He will likely see the clash against Betis as a missed opportunity to impress Ten Hag going into the second part of the season.