MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 19:43:14| >> :60:2727:2727:

Eric Bailly ruled out for up to five months following knee surgery

Eric Bailly ruled out for up to five months
© Reuters
Manchester United were also linked with Juventus forward Paulo Dybala on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s return to his hometown club was marred by the confirmation that Manchester United defender Eric Bailly faces up to five months out following knee surgery.

Solskjaer revealed the extent of Bailly’s injury after Juan Mata’s late penalty gave United a 1-0 win over Kristiansund, the team from the town where he was born – and for whom the Norwegian’s son Noah made his debut as a late substitute.

Bailly suffered the injury during United’s 2-1 win over Tottenham in their pre-season meeting in Shanghai last week.

With the exception of Paul Pogba who started on the bench, Solskjaer, who watched the game with his other son, Elijah, named a virtually full-strength side against the Norwegians.

But despite dominating the game for long periods, United failed to break down their opponents until the clock ticked over to stoppage time.

Mata converted the spot-kick after being brought down in the box, but the overall display only served to highlight Solskjaer’s search for new striking options, centred around Paulo Dybala.

Eric Bailly
Eric Bailly has been ruled out for up to five months (Martin Rickett/PA)

The Juventus striker is reportedly involved in talks over a switch to Old Trafford in what could effectively turn into a swap deal, with Romelu Lukaku heading in the opposite direction.

But Solskjaer would not be drawn on the speculation after full-time, telling manutd.com: “I’m not here to talk about rumours about other team’s players. We’re working on one or two cases. It’s 10 days or so before we start the league and hopefully we can announce a fresh face or two.”

Marcus Rashford missed a pair of early chances for the visitors and Scott McTominay lashed a long-range effort against a post.

Pogba appeared for United as one of a host of chances on the hour mark, while Solskjaer witnessed a proud moment for son Noah when he was introduced for the final four minutes.

ID:366534: cacheID:366534:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4881:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!