Tyrell Malacia will not return from injury until “early next year” a statement by Manchester United has revealed.
In an update provided on the club’s website, United said the Dutch defender had “suffered a setback in his rehabilitation” that required additional surgery.
While the operation was “successful”, it has delayed Malacia’s return until early 2024, while the left-back continues his rehabilitation at Carrington.
This is another frustrating break in Malacia’s season that seemed to be improving last month. He was not expected to return until the end of November after being spotted training on the grass.
This setback, however, has put an end to that optimism.
Malacia’s initial injury occurred during the club’s pre-season excursion to America, so the defender has yet to play a single minute this season. That absence has been compounded by an equally serious injury to Luke Shaw, with the England full-back recently returning to the first team in recent weeks.
United were forced to agree a loan deal for Sergio Reguilon on the final day of the summer transfer window to cover the unavailability of the two left-backs.
The injury crisis has been so pervasive at Old Trafford this season, however, that even Reguilon was ruled out with injury a few weeks after making his debut.
Erik ten Hag has, at times, been forced to play Victor Lindelof or Sofyan Amrabat at left-back. It’s little wonder why Marcus Rashford’s form has plummeted to pre-Ten Hag levels this season without any support from behind him.
What’s more, the timing of Malacia’s injury was doubly ruthless, as Shaw’s absence would normally have been a golden opportunity for the Dutchman, who played the role of his teammate’s understudy during his time in Manchester.
Instead, Malacia was forced to share a spot in the treatment room with Shaw, rather than play in the box instead.
This update, therefore, represents a continuation of the defender’s rotten luck with Ten Hag likely wondering what he has done to anger the footballing gods such is the barrage of injuries his squad have been inflicted with – truly a plague of maladies.
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