Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has revealed that he is not in fact injured after the centre-back was substituted off during international duty, clutching his hamstring as he left the pitch.
Bailly was replaced after 70 minutes of Ivory Coast's 1-1 draw with Belgium on Thursday night, with Odilon Kossounou taking the United man's place, sparking fears that the defender would be set for another spell on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old had been drafted in to partner Harry Maguire at the centre of the Red Devils' defence following the poor early-season form of Victor Lindelof, but could do little to prevent his side from falling to a 6-1 defeat at home to Tottenham.
Indeed, fans had been calling for the club to sign reinforcements at the back during the summer transfer window, but only left-back Alex Telles was added to the squad.
Still, Bailly will want to retain his spot in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's starting XI and took to social media to make clear that he was only suffering from fatigue and will not have to endure a prolonged period on the treatment table.
“Thank you for worrying about me but I'm doing well, it's just fatigue,” he wrote on Instagram. “Goodnight to you all and God protect us. Congratulations to my team for the match against the team ranked first in the world by FIFA.”
Originally lining up alongside fellow Premier League stars Wilfried Zaha, Serge Aurier and Nicolas Pepe, Bailly looked on as a late penalty from Franck Kessie secured a draw for the Elephants, who will next face off with Japan in another friendly in Utrecht on Tuesday.
Should Bailly come through the clash with the Blue Samurai unscathed, he could return to the centre of Solskjaer's defence alongside Maguire for a trip to Newcastle on October 17.
Following that Premier League outing, the Red Devils will travel to France to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, with the Ligue 1 champions favourites to top a group that also features Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir.
