Manchester United may have suffered a major blow with regard to defender Eric Bailly, as The Sun has stated that the player has suffered a knock in the reserve game on Friday. The Ivory Coast international defender has not been playing for United for the last month and a half due to his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations. He has just returned from the tournament and was given an opportunity to improve his fitness to feature for the first-team. However, his comeback from the international tournament only lasted 58 minutes after he went off with what appeared to be a serious knock.
United have not commented on the situation, but manager Jose Mourinho will be praying that the defender’s injury is not a serious one. Mourinho has not made a secret of the fact that his squad now looks extremely stretched due to the club’s extended involvement in four different competitions.
United are not only in the race with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City for a top four place, but they are also competing in the Europa league, FA Cup, and the EFL Cup. They would be playing in the final of the EFL Cup against Southampton, while a fifth round game in the FA Cup season the club take on Blackburn Rovers away from home. The club will also face St Etienne in the Europa League last-32 stage.
The fixture congestion has been so intense that manager Jose Mourinho has had no other option but to even recall midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger from being frozen out of the first-team action. Mourinho did not use the German, who has won the World Cup only in 2014, despite widespread acknowledgement that he would be vastly improved the squad.
At 32 years of age, he has just been recalled to the team and featured in the 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic during the weekend. Schweinsteiger also scored a goal and Mourinho confirmed that the player would play a key role in the second half of the campaign.
Bailly had an impressive first few months at Manchester United after his £30 million move from Villarreal in the summer. However, he has certainly struggled with regard to first-team appearances since suffering a major injury in the 4-0 win over Chelsea. Upon his return from injury, Bailly found himself in the pecking order behind Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, who were playing extremely well.
As a result, Mourinho retained the centre back pairing and Bailly had to content with the few appearances here and there. Since December, Bailly has completed 90 minutes of action only on two occasions. Now, this injury could be a major setback for the player and United.
