Man Utd Boss Offers Update After Bailly Suffers Fresh Injury

Jose Mourinho has offered an update on Eric Bailly after the defender suffered a fresh injury during Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

After being named as a substitute for last weekend’s win over Tottenham, Bailly was restored to the starting eleven at Selhurst Park last night with the Ivorian deputising for the suspended Antonio Valencia at right-back.

The young defender picked up a problem with his knee early in the first half but was able to carry on and put in a decent shift in the unfamiliar right-back spot during the opening forty-five minutes.

However, Bailly went to ground clutching his left knee shortly after half time and had to be replaced by Matteo Darmian in the 52nd minute after receiving treatment from the United physio.

Understandably fans are concerned as to the seriousness of the injury as Bailly has only recently returned to full fitness having missed two months with a problem with his right knee.

The good news is that Mourinho has confirmed the latest issue is with the other knee and isn’t a recurrence of his previous injury, however, the United boss isn’t sure how long Bailly will be out for this time around.

He told ManUtd.com:

“We don’t know [yet]. It is not the same knee, it is the other one. It is the left knee. So he is not coming back to a previous injury. Of course he has a problem with another dimension but he showed amazing character to try and try, and try until his limit.”

“The only thing I can say is that it is not the same knee. He had an injury in the right knee and he recovered fantastically well. Now it is the left knee. I don’t know really what he has, but let us see and wait. He could resist for so long. I would say for about 75 minutes he could resist. He is a special guy and his pain level is really high.”

We’ll have to wait for the injury to be further assessed before we’ll know how long Bailly will be on the sidelines for but it will come as a huge blow to United if the Ivory Coast international is ruled out for any significant period of time.

The 22-year-old has proven to be a superb signing since moving to Old Trafford from Villarreal in the summer with his dominant displays at the back earning rave reviews from fans and pundits alike.

Fortunately for United, Phil Jones is back to full fitness and has been excellent in defence in recent weeks while Marcos Rojo has also been showing his best form recently so they have cover for Bailly if he’s ruled out over the festive period.