Man Utd Boost: Key Man Aiming To Make Injury Return Against Tottenham

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a knee injury and is hoping to make his comeback against Tottenham next month, according to the Independent.

Bailly suffered knee ligament damage during United’s 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago and was initially expected to be on the sidelines until the Christmas period.

However, it looks as though Bailly is now set to hand Jose Mourinho a much-needed boost as the Independent claim that the 22-year-old is already making excellent progress in his recovery and is targetting a swift return to action.

The newspaper says that the Ivory Coast international is hoping to be back to full fitness in around a month and put himself in contention to make his comeback for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford on December 11.

The news will come as a huge boost to Mourinho as Bailly has been sorely missed in recent weeks with his absence compounded by Chris Smalling also being forced on to the sidelines through injury.

With United’s first choice centre-back pairing both out, Mourinho has been forced to deploy two make-shift full-backs in the middle of defence with Marcos Rojo playing alongside Daley Blind in recent games.

To make matters worse, Antonio Valencia has also been ruled out for six weeks with a fractured arm so Mourinho has seen his options at the back stretched to their limits.

Therefore, the Portuguese coach will be delighted if his £30m summer signing from Villarreal makes an early return to fitness and it would be a huge boost to have Bailly available for the Spurs game.

United head in to Sunday’s game at Swansea sitting eighth in the Premier League table and eight points off the pace in the title race after last weekend’s draw with Burnley so Mourinho will be desperate to get back on track at the Liberty Stadium.