Erik ten Hag sets date for Tyrell Malacia’s Man Utd return after more than 400 days out

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has issued an update regarding Tyrell Malacia’s return to first-team action following a lengthy period on the sidelines.

Malacia, who signed from Eredivisie side Feyenoord in 2022 for around £15 million, has not played for the Premier League club since undergoing surgery on a knee injury last summer.

Having last featured for United in their 2-1 victory over Fulham on Sunday, May 28, 2023, it looked like Erik ten Hag was expecting Malacia to return to first-team action in January.

But after his recovery process suffered “some setbacks”, he missed the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign.

Now, it appears the full-back is making good progress as he continues to work on an individual fitness programme under the close supervision of Manchester United’s medical team at Carrington.

In fact, Ten Hag expects Malacia to return in October, which will come as a huge relief given Luke Shaw’s fitness issues over the past year.

“He is now in a good place, but he is not here because I only took players who could play games or be available for team training,” Ten Hag said on United’s pre-season tour of the US.

“He is not that far, but he is now in a progress situation. At a relatively short notice, he can again return into team training and then into team performance in games. I think it would be possible in two months.”

United recently said that Malacia is doing ‘everything he can’ to regain full fitness ahead of the 24/25 campaign, although they have not ruled out bringing another left-back to the club this summer.

Image credit: Getty

In terms of options at left-back, Erik ten Hag will be encouraged by the pre-season performances of highly-rated defender Harry Amass.

The 17-year-old impressed on Wednesday night as goals from Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo and Casemiro sealed a 3-2 victory over La Liga outfit Real Betis.

And some fans called for academy product Amass to pick up more first-team minutes in the coming months following an assured display.

In an interview with GOAL, Luke Shaw was recently asked which young player fans should watch out for. “He’s a young left back from Man United,” he said. “Harry Amass.”