UNITED SPECIAL Bailly could be finished for season if he needs op
UNITED defender Eric Bailly could have surgery on an ankle injury which Jose Mourinho admits could be ‘serious’.
Bailly, 23, returned from international duty in October with a groin injury but returned for United two weeks later in the 1-0 win over Tottenham.
He started the following games against Benfica and Chelsea, but suffered another injury during the November internationals even though he was suspended for the Ivory Coast’s final World Cup qualifier against Morocco.
Central defender Bailly has missed the past eight United matches – and could be sidelined for the rest of the year as the club doctor Steve McNally continues to monitor him.
“I think it’s serious,” Mourinho said. “I don’t know how long he could be out for. It’s an injury that comes from the last time he went to the national team. We are trying conservative treatment but if the conservative treatment is not resolving it, he might have a surgery procedure, but let’s wait a little bit more.”
Phil Jones returned from a thigh injury in the Wednesday night win over Bournemouth and Marcos Rojo’s head wound is not expected to keep him out for a lengthy period.
Mourinho has five central defenders to choose from and is particularly pleased with Chris Smalling’s form.
“You see today, we play with Smalling and Jones, we have Lindelof on the bench, Blind on the bench, Marcos Rojo is injured but nothing really big.
“And Chris Smalling is playing amazingly well, I think seven or eight matches in a row, so we are fine.” IT is just like having a new signing.
After waiting 219 days for his first start of the season, following an ankle lay-off, Luke Shaw built on an encouraging return against CSKA Moscow with another fine display against Bournemouth.
The 22-year-old’s eyes still light up whenever he breaks into the final third – finding another gear 20 yards from goal – but what has been heartening of late is how well he recovers the ball, too. Instead of his head dropping, perhaps like it used to on previous occasions, Shaw now looks to win the ball back in one swift movement the second he is dispossessed.
That, as much as his cut-backs, will be key going forward as he begins to convince Jose Mourinho that he can be his kind of defender. And time is suddenly on his side again – it is easy to forget Shaw is only 51 games into his United career.
Encouragingly, in the secondhalf, when Mourinho was within inches of him on the touchline, Shaw played some of his best football against Bournemouth.
There was even one cheeky moment when he headed the ball over winger Junior Stanislas before then being fouled as he burst forward.
For a player who looked like he was second-guessing himself at times under Mourinho last season, that is some turnaround.
A deserved standing ovation was just reward, as well as a rare embrace from his manager.
Tellingly, as he went to make his way to the bench, Mourinho held Shaw back to give him another volley of encouragement before an affectionate pat on the head.
Thousands of words have been written in the past 18 months about Shaw’s ‘final chance’ and latest turning point, but this feels different after two positive performances.
And he is not even 100 per cent match fit yet – bouts of cramp have plagued Shaw in the final 10 minutes in of each of his past two games as he gets used to playing a full 90 minutes at this level again. You get the feeling that the penny has long dropped – Shaw’s fitness, physique and attitude have not been in question following his latest comeback. The world’s most expensive teenager, once upon a time, is showing some fight. That makes this summer all the more intriguing amid ongoing speculation linking United with a £50m move for Danny Rose who, himself, has just bounced back from his own horror injury. The Doncaster lad has made just six starts since his comeback in October and as well as being left on the bench for huge home games against Liverpool and Real Madrid, he was left out of the squad altogether for last month’s North London derby. Rose readily admitted that he was ‘fuming’ after being told to remain at Spurs’ training base at Enfield for that short trip to the Emirates, but the England international has hardly caught the eye since coming