Manchester United defender Eric Bailly ruled out for three months with ankle injury
ERIC BAILLY has been ruled out for three months with an ankle injury.
The news is a hammer blow to Manchester United and their manager Jose Mourinho as he tries to close the 11-point gap on Manchester City at the top.
Speaking on MUTV, Mourinho said: “He goes to surgery, the decision is made. I don’t say [he’s out] for the rest of the season but it’s for the next two or three months."
The Manchester United defender has already missed eight games with the problem he sustained on international duty last month.
Speaking a couple of days ago about Bailly's troubles, Mourinho said: “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.
He added: “We played with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones [against Bournemouth].
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“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.”
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.
“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.”