Jesse Lingard off injured on Man Utd return but fans lift Forest ace’s gloom as he finally gets Old Trafford send-off
JESSE LINGARD’S first return to Old Trafford ended in disappointment as he was forced off early in the second half with a leg injury.
The Notingham Forest ace was playing against his former club for the first time since his summer exit.
But Lingard lasted just 53 minutes before he came off with what appeared to be an injury to his leg.
Lingard’s withdrawal came with Nottingham Forest trailing 2-0 thanks to first half goals from pal Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
His first Old Trafford outing as an away player came just days after he slammed United for their treatment of him.
The 30-year-old claimed he was sold “false promises” by the Red Devils and said he was never told why he was frozen out.
He said: “I don’t know why I wasn’t playing. I don’t know what the problem was, whether it was politics or whatever.
“I still haven’t got an answer to this day. I didn’t even ask.
“I’d rather that someone out of respect for me being there that long told me ‘this is why you’re not playing’, but I never got that.
He played just 548 minutes across all comps last season and took to social media after he wasn’t given an Old Trafford farewell in their final home game against Brentford in May.
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But he finally got his send-off when he was replaced.
He received a warm ovation from all corners of the Theatre of Dreams when he was substituted.
It was a classy moment for someone who played more than 200 times for his boyhood club and won three major trophies, scoring in two of those finals.