Manchester United have been without Matthijs de Ligt since November, and now he’s shared an update on his situation.
Matthijs de Ligt hasn’t played a minute for Manchester United since a win at Selhurst Park at the end of November, meaning he has faced a six-month spell on the sidelines.
During this time, there hasn’t been a clear answer on how his recovery has been. But United had De Ligt back at Carrington doing individual training last month, which made it feel like a return was on the cards.
Gary Neville has voiced his annoyance over the Dutchman’s injury problems, and now there has been another step backwards to rule him out of the rest of this season and the World Cup.
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Matthijs de Ligt undergoes back surgery
De Ligt has been trying to come back from his injury, with Michael Carrick consistently indicating that the centre-back was fighting to return.
But now, De Ligt has taken to his Instagram with an update that he has now undergone surgery.
“After 6 months of treatment and working hard to get back, surgery was the only option left.
“I’m disappointed I couldn’t help the team the last 6 months and obviously missing out on the World Cup, but I am looking forward to doing everything to get back in front of the fans and feeling better again.”
In the comments, De Ligt received a lot of support.
One message came from Edwin van der Sar, who wrote, “All the best, Matthijs”.
While another from Christian Eriksen comprised of a heart emoji, a praise emoji, and finally a flexing emoji.
Chido Obi and Manchester City’s Ruben Dias commented with heart emojis.
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Manchester United should have made De Ligt have surgery earlier
While it is good to know De Ligt is finally getting the proper treatment he needed for his back problem, ultimately, it comes too late.
After six months with no indication of a return, his surgery should have been done in January, by which stage it was clear the Dutchman was facing a long-term issue.
If he had, perhaps De Ligt would be back for pre-season.
The fact that he put it off so long suggests the recovery time for this surgery is a long one. This could mean we don’t get to see De Ligt for a long time yet.
Hopefully, this sorts out the issue, and he can get back to the player he was in the first three months of this season.
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