Jose Mourinho and Manchester United face another setback as defender Eric Bailly has suffered a serious knee ligament injury which will see him out for months, after his collision with Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard during Manchester United's 4-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho's "homecoming game" turned into an absolute nightmare as United conceded a goal without even getting a touch of the ball.
In his post-match conference, Mourinho confirmed what every United fan feared about Bailly’s injury, "He is injured and I am afraid he is badly injured, in his knee, in the ligament area. He feels that it is really bad."
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There hasn't been any official statement from the club as to how long the Ivorian could be out for but it is expected that he'll have to be on the sidelines for 3-6 months.
The Ivorian has been an integral part of the team since his move from Villarreal in the summer. He's been excellent at the heart of United's defence and been a consistent performer so far this season for United, with quite a few Man of the match performances too.
Bailly has featured for United in every single league game this season and played every single minute until his substitution at Stamford Bridge. With the Ivory Coast international out, Jose Mourinho will have a serious injury headache.
The Portuguese manager might have to revert back to the Chris Smalling-Daley Blind centre-back pairing until Bailly’s return. Argentinian Marcos Rojo, could be another choice, if Mourinho opts to keep Daley Blind at the left back position in place of Luke Shaw.
Manchester United already have a few players in the treatment room, with an unspecified injury to skipper Wayne Rooney and a knock to Marouane Fellaini against Chelsea. Henrikh Mkhitaryan still isn't match fit and needs to improve his sharpness before he gets a start under Mourinho. Centre-back Phil Jones had been long out due to a knee injury which he suffered at the start of the season.
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United face Manchester City next in the English League Cup at home and then host Burnley in a Premier league tie.
Mourinho needs to lift the spirits of the players and a win against arch-rivals Manchester City could be the best bet to gee up fans and players.
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