Eric Bailly set for months on sidelines with knee injury

Eric Bailly’s Manchester United career has had so many false starts that we’re starting to worry that it might be a write-off. The 25-year-old’s latest injury setback was confirmed on Tuesday by Reds boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who revealed that the Ivorian will be sidelined for four to five months with a knee problem.

Bailly picked up the injury in Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the International Champions Cup, after which Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino issued an apology for his side’s heavy-handed approach. Bailly had only just returned from a knee injury that saw him miss the Ivory Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

There have been flashes of promise since Bailly joined United from Villarreal two summers ago, but they’ve been few and far between. Injury problems last season restricted him to just eight Premier League starts, and hopes that he’d be back to his fighting best for the start of the new campaign have been quickly dashed. Let’s hope we see him before too long.