Tyrell Malacia has made his long-awaited return to training, but the left-back is still some time away from rejoining the Premier League action.
The 24-year-old has been absent from Manchester United’s squad this season due to a knee injury, which left manager Erik ten Hag short of options in the left-back position. Even Luke Shaw suffered an injury setback during this period, further compounding the issue. Loan signings Sergio Reguilon and Sofyan Amrabat stepped in to bridge the gap.
Initially, United faced uncertainty regarding the best approach to Malacia’s injury. It is believed they initially used injections to manage the pain, but eventually decided that surgery was the most suitable course of action. The Dutch international is now aiming to resume full first-team training.
On Monday, Malacia visited United’s Carrington training facility for light ball work apart from the main training group. Typically, players return to light training when they are about a month away from their comeback, which is encouraging news for Ten Hag.
According to reports from the Manchester Evening News, Malacia may be available for selection as early as next month. Initially, there were concerns that he would be sidelined until the New Year, missing United’s busy Christmas fixtures and the Champions League group stage.
Before joining United in July 2022, Malacia came through the ranks at Feyenoord. Last season, he made 39 appearances across all competitions as an understudy to Luke Shaw, contributing to their Carabao Cup victory and reaching the FA Cup final.
Malacia’s most recent competitive outing was in June, representing his country in the Nations League semi-final, where the Netherlands faced a 4-2 defeat to Croatia. It’s understood that his knee issue first surfaced during the previous Premier League campaign.
Ten Hag indicated back in August that Malacia’s recovery would take some time. The United manager is keen to have him back soon, especially as Shaw is dealing with a muscle injury. There is hope that Shaw will also make his return next month.
In addition to Malacia and Shaw, Lisandro Martinez (foot), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hamstring), Kobbie Mainoo (ankle), Amad (knee), and Jadon Sancho (internal suspension) are currently unavailable for selection. Casemiro, who was sidelined due to a knock, is now fit again.
Casemiro will not participate in Tuesday’s Champions League match against Copenhagen due to his red card in United’s previous European game against Galatasaray. Reguilon, who has just recovered from a hamstring issue, may also miss Tuesday’s game.
“Sergio was fit (on Friday), trained all last week and yesterday he was part of training and today he will train and we have to assess if he is ready and game fit and can be involved in the squad,” Ten Hag explained to reporters. “We have to see if he is fit enough to be available.”
Manchester United performance and stats
Manchester United
Manchester United is currently 4th in the Champions League with 0 points.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 5 goals and conceding 7.
Manchester United will play the next match in Champions League against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday 24th of October in Manchester. The prediction is Manchester United winning the match.
