Manchester United’s hopes of an early trophy in the 2017/18 campaign have been dealt a blow with the news Eric Bailly has been suspended for three matches.
The ruling from UEFA, which relates to a straight red card shown to the centre-back during the Europa League semi-final with Celta Vigo, means he will miss next month’s Super Cup.
The Ivorian became involved in an 88th minute melee at Old Trafford during which he struck opponent John Guidetti.
It meant Bailly missed the successful Europa League final against Ajax and will miss a further two games.
Mourinho on Bailly’s red card
‘I didn’t see the incident but he [Bailly] was phenomenal. The game was emotional until the end for everyone.
‘Some kept their control in a better way than others. And I think it was the wrong card. The wrong card is not new in this kind of situation and probably Eric was a bit naive. I don’t know [the details of] the incident but we have lost a very important player for the final and we don’t have many.’
The first of those two games will be the UEFA Super Cup meeting against Real Madrid on August 8. The annual match between the Europa League and Champions League winners is one Mourinho admitted yesterday he is keen to win.
That will now be much harder without Bailly, the club’s first choice centre-back, unavailable.
Man Utd's pre-season fixtures
Man Utd 5-2 LA Galaxy
Man Utd 2-1 Real Salt Lake
Man Utd 2-0 Manchester City
Man Utd 1-1 Real Madrid (2-1 on penalties)
Man Utd 0-1 Barcelona
Man Utd 3-0 Valerenga
Man Utd 2-1 Sampdoria
Real Madrid (UEFA Super Cup) - Tue 8 Aug
Alternative options include summer signing Victor Lindelof – who has failed to impress in pre-season, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones.
Bailly will also miss Manchester United’s first Champions League group game.
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