Manchester United have endured a tumultuous season thus far, as their manager, Jose Mourinho seems to be running out of ideas very soon and the club was served further bad news with defender Eric Bailly ruled out for 2 months owing to a knee injury he sustained in the defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.
The player was substituted due to a knee injury in the game against the Blues and while it didn’t look too severe at the time, it has emerged that Bailly has suffered a lateral knee ligament injury and is expected to remain out of action for at least 2 months.
The injury will see him miss crucial games against Arsenal, West Ham, Everton and Tottenham and could have a detrimental effect on United’s chances to recover from their less than stellar start to the season.
Bailly joined Manchester United in a big money move from Villarreal in the summer and has since established himself as a regular in the side with his disciplined, if often overly physical performances.
The Ivory Coast international featured in each of their 9 league games so far and has been solid in defense, making frequent tackles and using his pace and understanding of the game to break down the opposition’s rhythm. He has won close to 2 tackles every 90 minutes, made an incredible 4 interceptions per 90 minutes and has also added to the aerial prowess of his side.
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However, he has not been able to be a one-man defensive army for his club as they have been fragile over the last few weeks as displayed in their defeat at the hands of Chelsea last weekend. They have conceded 9 goals in their last 5 league outings and the injury to Bailly is set to further affect their performance in the coming weeks.
The player is expected to travel to the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast in January and with the injury expected to keep him out until late December, Manchester United could be without the services of their best defensive resource for a long time.
The injury presents a tough situation for Jose Mourinho, especially given the heavy investment in the player and his subsequent positive impact at the club and we are keen to find out how “The Special One” deals with the situation.
