Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Eric Bailly will miss action for atleast 2 more months as Manchester United take on West Bromwich Albion.
Manchester United will be looking to build upon their nervy 1-0 win over Bournemouth as they travel to the Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion. The Red Devils though, will have to take the field for this match and many more, without Eric Bailly, who is set for an extended period on the sidelines.
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Eric Bailly’s injury is more serious than what was first thought to be and he is set to undergo surgery, which will keep him out for around 2-3 months. The manager though, placed his faith in the other options available to him, in his pre-match conference.
“Bailly 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. But now we have [Phil] Jones back and we have [Chris] Smalling, even [Daley] Blind, so it’s a position we have good cover in but of course we’ll miss the player.”
Speaking to #MUTV, Jose Mourinho has provided an update on Eric Bailly’s injury: “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.” pic.twitter.com/bsNF33o9So
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 15, 2017
The Portuguese also iterated the pleasing fact that there are no new injuries to cater to. And while this does come as a relief, it also hints towards the continued absence of Marcos Rojo and Marouane Fellaini, both of whom were doubts ahead of the tie.
There are also rumours that the Belgian will continue to be absent till January, which will come as a huge blow to United.
Jose Mourinho also hinted at potential rotation within his squad, especially with the side set to play three games in the seven days to come, starting with the trip to Hawthorns.
“A bit of recovering, a bit of rotation. I’ll change a few players from match to match because I think it is almost impossible for players to play all these matches in December and the beginning of January.”
By the manager’s statement of options available to him – Mourinho did not mention Victor Lindelof – we could see him retain the pairing of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. But, if he does want to rotate, Victor Lindelof should start, especially after giving a good account of himself whenever called upon.
