Medical expert: Eric Bailly may have played last game for Man United after confirmed news
Eric Bailly is injured and down the pecking order at Man United – and it is possible he may not play for the club again.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Bailly returned from the Africa Cup of Nations last week after his Ivory Coast side were knocked out by Egypt in the round of 16.
United’s media team confirmed yesterday that the 27-year-old centre-back is also suffering from a “swollen ankle”.
Bailly has made just a handful of appearances for the Red Devils this term.
Dinnery suggests that his injury layoff may last just “one or two weeks” but that we may have seen the last of him in a United shirt in any case.
“He’s still not back in training yet,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“He has also been heavily linked with a move away from Man United.
“When you look at who they have defensively, it looks as though Phil Jones has stepped above him in the pecking order.
“It could even be a question of if and not when he’ll be back. He may not play for United again.
“A swollen ankle is a pretty generic term. It doesn’t seem like there is anything too sinister besides some swelling. It may just be one or two weeks, or far longer.
“There could just be a little bit of fluid in and around that joint. There wasn’t anything partiality obvious in terms of the mechanism of the injury itself.
“I don’t think it’s one Rangnick will be overly concerned about given that you have Maguire, Varane, Lindelof and Jones all available for selection.”
United will be without Bailly, who is under contract until 2024, when they face Burnley tonight (9 February).
The Ivorian missed a penalty in the shootout loss to Egypt on 26 January.
In other news, pundit suggests Mauricio Pochettino could have “sizeable funds” this summer after Man United update.