Manchester United fans are worried about Tyrell Malacia as he is absent from the club’s preseason tour.
After missing all of last season the player has been out now for 372 number of days and counting.
As time passes fans and team management rightfully have anxieties increase over when the player will come back.
Tyrell Malacia injury
Tyrell Malacia impressed in his first season at the club with the young defender having 39 appearances in all competitions and giving good cover for Luke Shaw in the left back position.
But towards the end of his debut season, Malacia started having knee pains. The decision was then taken in the summer of 2023 for knee surgery to be undertaken to help properly heal the meniscus injury that he was suffering from.
Normally meniscal injuries are relatively straightforward to treat, however Tyrell Malacia’s has been plagued with major setbacks.
After his first surgery it was discovered the player still had issues, so another two corrective surgeries were made.
This saw him ruled out for all of the 2023/24 season, but there are positive developments now with the club confirming that earlier this month he has returned to “training individually on the grass under the guidance of medical staff” and that he has “progressed” in his “fitness programme”.
Tyrell Malacia worries
Tyrell Malacia will have to be carefully managed due to the extremely long time he has been out. The biggest risk factor around his return is the de-conditioning he will have suffered.
The lack of game time means that he is at a high risk of re-injury. These can be related to his original injury, or these can be injuries that occur due to fatigue and other problems related to lack of play.
Manchester United fans will have to be patient as he may return to fitness, but it could be a while for the left back to be able to return to pre-injury levels of performance.
Also, his setbacks indicate a higher risk factor than other players with a similar injury. The complicated nature of how his recovery process has unfolded means that it is a unique and uncertain case that is unlike others
Positive outlook on Malacia
However, it is not all doom and gloom. The fact that Tyrell Malacia is not on USA tour is not necessarily a bad thing and it could be the best thing for the player.
The recent information about him returning to the training pitch shows that he is on the road to full recovery and that this time around there have been no setbacks yet.
By staying at Carrington, Tyrell Malacia will be able to be given much more individualised attention than if he was on tour with the big group of players.
The club can use their highly specialised training resources to make sure that the player has a unique training programme that ensures risks are reduced as much as possible.
Also, if there are setbacks he will be in a familiar setting with medical staff rather than abroad which could complicate things further.
The club may have deemed it too risky to take him, especially with the fact that there will be a lot of fatigue-inducing travel arrangements and so focusing on training at home will be beneficial.
It might be too early to expose him to competitive matches. But if he does become ready for competitive exposure the club will be able to give him experiences and set up important game time to test the player.
Finally, the era of high injury loads at Manchester United may be at an end and the club are likely to be providing high-quality assistance to the player.
The club brought in former Arsenal doctor Gary O’Driscoll, who comes with a big reputation and will be ensuring that Malacia is handled carefully.
This club doctor has overseen Arsenal have some of the best injury management in the last few seasons in the Premier League and will be able to transfer this over to Manchester United.
So whilst it may seem worrisome on the surface the player is not present, Tyrell Malacia may be boosted by staying in Manchester and training on his own programme.
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