Man Utd defender Eric Bailly is reportedly hoping to return from his knee injury a month earlier than originally planned to hand Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a boost.
The 25-year-old has been limited to just 18 appearances in each of the last two campaigns through a combination of injury problems and competition for places.
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With the arrival of Harry Maguire this summer, it may be difficult for him to break back into the side and dislodge either the England international or Victor Lindelof, but Solskjaer will welcome the added competition and quality depth as the Red Devils look to compete on multiple fronts this season.
According to ESPN, the United boss could be in line for a major boost in that regard, as it’s suggested that despite initially being scheduled to return at the end of December, Bailly is now targeting a comeback after the November international break having made good progress in his recovery.
With the Europa League getting underway next week, Man Utd’s squad depth will be tested in the coming months and so to have as close to a fully fit squad at his disposal as possible will be a welcome boost for Solskjaer.
Nevertheless, the report above from ESPN notes how several players are currently struggling with knocks, and while they aren’t in the central defensive area for the most part, Solskjaer would surely welcome seeing the treatment room becoming less crowded with injury boosts in the more immediate future.
While Maguire and Lindelof appear to be the first-choice pairing for the Man Utd boss at the back, while Chris Smalling was shipped out on loan to Roma, they haven’t been particularly impressive defensively thus far having conceded four goals in their four Premier League outings so far this season.
