'I suffered injury hell after leaving Man Utd – I'm fighting for my career and next move'

View 5 Images

Will Keane's Manchester United career could have been a lot different if it wasn't for injuries.

A graduate of United's world famous academy, Keane progressed through the ranks at Carrington before being handed his first-team debut in December 2011. The Stockport-born forward came on as a second-half substitute in a 3-2 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.

But Keane would return to United's Under 21s for the rest of that season before suffering a serious knee injury while on international duty with England's Under 19s in May 2012.

Keane, who was 19 at the time, ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and was kept out for the entire 2012/13 season. He made his return for United U21s in September 2013 before going out on a one-month loan to Championship side Wigan Athletic.

Although his time at the DW Stadium was cut short through a groin injury, he would go back out on loan to spend the second half of the 2013/14 campaign at QPR .

More time out on loan followed at Sheffield Wednesday and Preston before then United manager Louis van Gaal gave Keane another chance to impress in the first team.

But he was restricted to just two further substitute appearances for the Reds, one in the Premier League at Sunderland and another in the FA Cup at Shrewsbury.

United decided to sell Keane to Hull City , who had just been promoted to the Premier League, in August 2016 for £1million, signing a three-year contract in the process.

Reflecting on his time at United, Keane exclusively told Mirror Football : "I look back now and it was the best place to come through the ranks and have that development. I was lucky to have a strong squad as a whole.

View 5 Images

"At the time, the feeling was that a lot of us would go and break in and get around the first team, which a few did and stayed there for a long time. I loved it.

"I think the whole education, enjoying going in every day. It was a great place to learn our trade and to make that transition from academy to reserves. And then I think the coaches we had at the time were all brilliant.

"I see now even a lot of lads are going on to have great careers. I think you've seen it at United, haven't you, over the years? It's been like a conveyor belt. The aim is to always play, but if you don't, lads are still on to have great careers. It was the perfect place to be."

Although Keane didn't get as much game time as he would have wanted at United, he still learnt a lot and gained some valuable experience with some of the best coaches and players in world football.

But Keane does believe that he would have had more opportunities if he hadn't have suffered the ACL injury that ended up keeping him out for almost 16 months.

When asked why it didn’t work out at United, Keane added: "It's all ifs, buts and maybes, so there's no saying that I would have stayed there and played a lot more. But I think in football, a lot of it is timing, isn't it? I was quite unfortunate that I did have a bad knee injury at the time, which I'd just made my debut, and then it was the last game of the season.

View 5 Images

"I did my ACL and then I ended up being out for 15 or 16 months, so it was a long time when it was probably a key part of the transition and getting around the squad.

"So obviously that hindered my progression then, and even then when I got back, it took time to get myself going, so that didn't help. And then I did it again, even when I left United and I went to Hull in the Premier League, played a few games and ended up redoing it. So then that was another year out.

"At the time it was shocking timing and it kind of killed me, but that is the way it goes. I've still managed to carve out a career. Obviously you never know, if I'd not had them, would I have stayed higher up? Potentially, but who knows?"

Soon after leaving United to sign for Hull, Keane ruptured his ACL for a SECOND time. It came on just his sixth appearance for the Tigers during a 2-1 win against Southampton in November 2016.

Keane was forced to miss 14 months before returning in January 2018 following Hull's relegation to the Championship. He went on to score his first goal for the Tigers in a 5-0 win at Burton in April 2018.

Detailing the struggles he had while recovering from both ACL injuries, Keane revealed that it took a toll on him both from a physical and even a mental aspect. "Yeah, at the time it was a real challenge," he continued.

View 5 Images

"I think the first one I didn't really know because I'd never had a bad injury like that before, I kind of just got on with it. It was obviously really tough to take, but I didn't know how long the actual rehab process was going to take.

"As it carried on, I thought this is never ending. And it was tough because I remember at the time I was thinking, even when I got back outside, I was really struggling to get going and thought, how am I going to be able to play again here to a certain level? It just takes time and a bit of reprogramming your body and your brain almost to do all the things you used to do, but you get there eventually.

"The second one was tough because it was almost like a second chance at playing at that top level in the Prem (Premier League). So that one was really hard, especially because I knew how long it was out because I'd been through it once before.

"That season we got relegated at Hull, so then I've come back and we're not obviously in the same situation. That was hard to take because I felt like I'd had some setbacks at United, but then going to Hull was a fresh chance, a clean slate, and then to have that, it'd be such a major injury again, ruining the chance of getting more games in the Prem was really hard.

"Like I said, I've always tried to be optimistic and look to the positives, which is not easy at times. Still managed to grind it out and play at a good level and been at some great clubs."

View 5 Images

Keane has since gone on to have a successful career in the EFL. After leaving Hull in 2019, he moved to Ipswich Town and then on to Wigan Athletic, where he enjoyed his most prolific season in 2021/22.

Indeed, Keane found the net 27 times in 50 appearances as the Latics won the League One title. The following season, he hit double figures for Wigan in the Championship and that earned him a move to Preston North End.

He was Preston's top scorer in the 2023/24 season with 13 goals and had his contract extended until June 2026. But Keane was unable to rediscover that same form in his second season at the club.

And after then struggling to get a look-in under Paul Heckingbottom at the start of the 2025/26 campaign, Keane went out on loan to League One side Reading for the second half of the season.

He scored just twice in 14 matches for The Royals before becoming a free agent earlier this summer, following the expiration of his contract at Preston.

Now 33, Keane is still without a club and has spent the last five weeks at PFA pre-season, a summer programme that allows out-of-contract players to train and regain fitness with a view of finding their next move.

"I feel really good," Keane said, when asked about his future during his time on the PFA pre-season camp. "It was disappointing not to have played more games at the end of last season, but I feel like this is a clean slate and I'm still raring to go. I feel like I've still got a lot to offer.

"I wanted to rediscover the form that I had a couple of years ago. I was playing consistently and scoring plenty of goals. I feel like I've still got that in me. I'm really itching to do that again.

"I had a few injuries early on in my career, but a few people in the game said to me, the coach and what not, that hopefully towards the end of my career I'll get them back.