Manchester United summer signing Manuel Ugarte was unveiled at Old Trafford on Sunday, but the Uruguay international midfielder did not wait to watch their match against Liverpool, according to beIN SPORTS (via the Sun).
The former Paris Saint-Germain star was not registered in time to face the Reds after joining the Red Devils on summer transfer deadline day, and he was not named in the matchday squad as a result.
Ugarte was presented in front of the home crowd but immediately left to link up with Uruguay for international duty, missing the chance to watch the 3-0 loss to Liverpool live.
Uruguay played a friendly against Guatemala in the early hours of Monday, but the 23-man squad for the game consisted only of the domestic league players, managed by Diego ‘Ruso’ Perez.
The main national team, managed by Marcelo Bielsa, have two World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Venezuela on September 7 and 10, respectively, and while an official announcement has not been made, the new Man United star is expected to be included in the squad.
Man United manager Erik ten Hag claimed that the 23-year-old is yet to attain match fitness having not featured in any game since the Copa America third-place play-off against Canada on 13th July, and whether Bielsa will look to play Ugarte during the break remains to be seen.
While he reportedly left earlier yesterday, his Uruguayan team-mate Darwin Nunez featured in the game at Old Trafford before departing for international duty.
A woeful first-half performance from Casemiro against Liverpool forced Ten Hag to bring on 20-year-old Toby Collyer for his Premier League debut ahead of the second-half, but the Dutchman would have wished Ugarte was available.
If he features heavily for Uruguay in their next two games, he could be ready to be thrown straight into action when Man United face Southampton after the international break, and the midfielder will be desperate to hit the ground running.
