How Rojo is doing on loan and what it means for Man Utd future

Rewind a little over six months and Marcos Rojo was a key part of the Manchester United first-team squad.

He was no longer a Premier League starter, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof having locked down the centre-back position, but he started the first four Europa League group games, leading United to a clean sheet in three of those games. He played the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool and looked set to play a versatile depth role as the season progressed.

But as has so often been the case throughout Rojo's career, injuries struck.

“Rojo got a muscle injury in training or he's been struggling with it, so he's been trying to get back,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in late November. “He's not ready yet. He had to pull out of the internationals. He was playing with some discomfort towards the end of that run. So maybe [he will be out for] a couple of weeks.”

The Argentinian moved to Estudiantes on a six-month loan. Former United midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron is the Sporting Director at Estudiantes and clearly wanted to take a risk on the defender's fitness. So, how has Rojo performed back in his native Argentina?

Those same fitness-related problems have come back to bite. Rojo missed the first two SuperLiga matches due to the injury he suffered in Manchester, then played one full 90 minutes against Defense y Justicia, only to sit on the sidelines since.

Cielo Sports reported that Rojo intended to return versus River Plate at the end of February. He missed that match and the following two in early March, and he will now hope to fight his way back to fitness during the remainder of the season.

What this means for Rojo's United future remains to be seen. The fact of the matter is that Solskjaer does not see him as an immediate part of the club's future, hence allowing him to depart on loan.

As United have experienced with other players, it is not easy to offload fringe players on high wages. Rojo would likely have to take a pay cut or United would have to subsidise his wages. Given that he will leave the club for nothing at the expiration of his contract a year later, that seems unlikely.

And so, we likely reach an impasse. A clearly able player who could be a useful back-up across the defence, but struggles to stay fit. Until Rojo can prove his fitness, his future is unclear.

Whether he is able to do that while on loan at Estudiantes or when he returns to Manchester remains to be seen.