Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has admitted he is nearing full fitness, and could be set to start United’s game against Aston Villa on Friday night.

The German international picked up a calf injury during the Red Devils’ pre-season tour of the Unites States, limiting Schweinsteiger to a place on the bench in their opening game of the season against Spurs.

Pep Guardiola, who managed Schweinsteiger at Bayern Munich before his transfer to United, insisted that the World Cup winner would never be fully fit.

Schweinsteiger begs to differ:

“It’s fine. I had three or four days in America where I had this injury and it was not so good for my rhythm.” said Schweinsteiger on ManUtd.com

“Now I feel much better and also the game was very important to play 30 minutes.”

“The training sessions are very important for me, too. I’m getting better and I hope I will be 100 per cent fit in the next week.”

Schweinsteiger also thanked his teammates for helping him settle quickly at the Manchester club.

“It’s getting better and better. Everything is something new for me, a new step in my life and I’m really looking forward to settling in more and more with my team-mates.”

“They are helping me a lot and we do a lot of things together in our free time. My team-mates help me to choose restaurants, for example, and golf courses, something like this.”

“But the most important thing is to be successful this season and to win the matches.”