Bailly could return for FA Cup clash

ERIC Bailly is available to play in United’s FA Cup clash with Huddersfield today, boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed.

MEN Sport revealed on Thursday that the 23-year-old was due to return to training ahead of next week’s Champions League tie against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium following four months out with injury.

Bailly has not played for United since the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on November 5 after he picked up an ankle injury while on international duty with the Ivory Coast.

United have missed Bailly in recent weeks, conceding sloppy goals against Tottenham and Newcastle, and the Ivorian has proved a lucky charm of sorts this season for Mourinho.

And the United boss has now confirmed that Bailly is fit and ready to play at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday, but Ander Herrera, Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are still out.

“We want to go to the quarter-finals so we go with a serious approach,” Mourinho told MUTV. “I have more Premier Leagues and League Cups so, of course, I’d like more [FA Cups] but I’m not thinking about myself. I’m thinking about the club and the fans.”

United have only conceded four goals in the 10 games Bailly has started this season, keeping clean sheets in seven of them, and that run coincided with the club’s best spell of the season when they only dropped points in two games he played.

Bailly has only played in 48 of a possible 103 games since joining United.