Manuel Ugarte said he had been surprised by the strength of character and personality Ayden Heaven has shown after his rapid ascension to the Manchester United team since joining in January.
United signed Heaven for just over £1million from Arsenal but a spate of injuries in defence has thrust him into the spotlight quicker than expected, with Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and Jonny Evans all sidelined.
That has led to Heaven making four appearances for United, including starts against Real Sociedad and Leicester City, but he has now joined his colleagues on the treatment table, picking up an injury during the win at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
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The 18-year-old is waiting to find out the extent of that issue. Having been stretchered off early in the second half, he left the stadium without the use of crutches, although his foot was in a protective boot.
It ended another promising evening for Heaven, who had been excellent in the first half, and Ugarte has seen enough to believe the teenager will have the personality required to get over the injury and come back even stronger.
"I don’t know how he is. I haven’t asked him but the truth is he's a very strong guy," he said. "This surprised me about him, the personality he has.
"He's played very well in the last few games. Let's hope he doesn't get too bad, and that he recovers well and is ready for what's to come."
Heaven played his part in a second successive convincing victory for a United team beginning to show signs of improvement under Ruben Amorim.
Ugarte worked with the Portuguese head coach at Sporting and has impressed since being reunited with Amorim at Old Trafford. He has begun to show his best form, while the team is now also finding consistency in the 3-4-2-1 shape favoured by the head coach.
"I'm happy. Here I'm playing, I feel good," said Ugarte. "Obviously we want to get up to the top. We're not in good a good position in the table, at the Premier League, but it's a long way, and I think we're on the right track.
"I think we're more solid, more consistent, but the important thing is that we are winning again, that we maintain consistency in the victories, and I think we're slowly achieving that. Obviously it takes work, but yes, I think we're more solid when it comes to defending, and that's important.
"The training is very good. It's very intense. We always try to match the intensity of the game, and that's important, because then it's easier for us to have intensity in the game. And well, I think that takes time too. It takes time to know the dynamics, but we're happy."
United have lost only three of their last 17 games under Amorim and with selection looking more settled, one of the strengths of the team has been the partnership between Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes, who is continuing to post impressive attacking numbers despite being moved to a deeper midfield position.
"Bruno is doing very well," said Ugarte. "He's at a very high level. His quality in terms of goals, assists, and how he's committed defensively is important.
"He's the captain, and we all look up to him. I feel comfortable playing with him. He's a very good person on a daily basis. He's a captain, so we're happy with him."
