Quinton Fortune has defied predictions that his career could be over by recovering sufficient fitness to return to action for Manchester United, the club confirmed on Thursday.
The South African midfielder, who has not played this season because of a knee injury, was named in the United reserve line-up that was due to take on Wolves on Thursday evening.
Fears for Fortune’s future had mounted at the end of last year, when United referred him to a specialist in a bid to discover why his knee injury was not healing as expected.
Fortune has not played for United since he came on as a substitute for John O’Shea in the FA Cup final defeat by Arsenal at the end of last season.
He had knee surgery in July after damaging cartilage during pre-season training and subsequently suffered a recurring problem with calcification in the affected knee.
Fortune has suffered a frustrating run of injuries since he moved to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid in 1999.
United have won three Premiership titles since then but Fortune has only once made enough appearances to pick up a winners’ medal.
Initially recruited as a winger, the Cape Town-born player has demonstrated sufficient versatility to operate at both left-back and in the middle of midfield, where he looked set for a protracted run in the team before breaking a leg in December 2002.
This season’s injuries have been particularly frustrating for the player and club as Fortune would have been sure of a lengthy run at left-back following the serious knee injury suffered by Argentinian Gabriel Heinze. – AFP
