Man Utd defender Bailly ruled out with injury until after next international break

Kieran Francis

Man Utd defender Bailly ruled out with injury until after next international break image

Manchester United have confirmed defender Eric Bailly will be absent for three-to-four weeks with an injury that will see him miss several important matches.

The Red Devils reported the news on their official website, stating coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had ruled the defender out for the next month following the club's 2-1 win over PSG in the Champions League opener at Parc des Princes.

Reports last week suggested Bailly had injured his hamstring during recent international break with Ivory Coast, with the centre-half being substituted on 70 minutes clutching his leg during the 1-1 draw with Belgium.

However, the 26-year-old suggested he wasn't injured playing for his nation, claiming he was only suffering from 'fatigue' in an Instagram post after the match.

Despite being an unused substitute during United's 4-1 Premier League win over Newcastle United at the weekend, Bailly didn't travel to France for the PSG clash.

Solskjaer's timeline suggests Bailly will likely miss matches against Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Istanbul Basaksehir and Everton, before returning after the November international break.

The Red Devils - also minus captain Harry Maguire with injury- produced a strong defensive showing against the Ligue 1 champions as Marcus Rashford scored an 87th minute in another famous win in Paris.

Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Axel Tuanzebe formed an effective three-man central defensive performance that managed to restrain the output of PSG's star attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria.

Tuanzebe was singled out for praise by Solskjaer, with the 22-year-old putting in a brilliant performance in his first start for the club since December 2019 - having being sidelined by a long-term foot injury.

“Axel did fantastic, he’s been out for 10 months so to put in a performance like this against Neymar and Mbappe almost surprised us as well,” Solskjaer said to reporters after the match.

"We know he’s a good player, but to do it on a night like this is fantastic."

Tuanzebe has firmly put himself in the frame to be selected for Saturday's crunch Premier League match against Chelsea at Old Trafford, with Maguire also likely to return from injury.

Kieran Francis

Kieran Francis Photo

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at The Sporting News based in Melbourne, Australia. He started at Sportal.com.au before being a part of the transition to Sporting News in 2015. Just prior to the 2018 World Cup, he was appointed chief editor of Goal.com in Australia. He has now returned to The Sporting News where his passions lay in football, AFL, poker and cricket - when he is not on holiday.