Eric Bailly may need surgery on ‘serious’ ankle injury as Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho reveals his worries over ace
ERIC BAILLY has a 'serious' ankle injury and may need surgery, says Jose Mourinho.
The Manchester United defender has already missed eight games with the problem he sustained on international duty last month.
But Mourinho could now be without his key centre-back for the rest of the season after already falling 11 points behind Manchester City in the title race.
The Special One revealed: “I think it’s serious. We are trying a conservative treatment but if the conservative treatment is not working, he might have a surgery procedure.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic. I want to leave it with the doctor.”
However, Mourinho is confident his other defenders are more than capable of filling in.
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He added: “We played with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones [against Bournemouth].
“Victor Lindelof is on the bench and while Marcos Rojo is injured, it’s nothing really big. Smalling is playing amazingly well, so we are fine.”
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However, there appears to be no way back in for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with Mourinho warning the Armenian he’s way down the Old Trafford pecking order.
The Portuguese tactician explained: “I can only have six outfield players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench.
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“I had two defenders that can play in different areas. I have Ashley Young to cover the wing and wing-back positions.
“Ander Herrera is a midfield player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a striker, Marcus Rashford is a second striker and winger.
“To have Mkhitaryan means I don’t have one of them and I believe the others deserve their place.”
Referring to City’s 11-point lead at the top of the table, Mourinho concluded: “It is only over in May. If it is over now, I go on holiday to Brazil or Los Angeles.”
