Man Utd could lose key centre-back for rest of season

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Eric Bailly has suffered a serious injury and may require surgery.

Speaking about Eric Bailly's injury after the 1-0 win over Bournemouth, Mourinho revealed: "I think it's serious. We are treating him carefully, but if it doesn't work, he may have to undergo an operation."

Bailly last played against Chelsea in November. Photo: PA

"It's almost like the doctor will let me know as soon as there's a new development. But this is not my problem, we don't want to talk about this. I don't want to be a pessimist, I want to let the doctor solve this," Mourinho continued.

Bailly has been struggling with an ankle injury, and last featured in the defeat to Chelsea in early November. The Ivorian centre-back has missed eight games since then and United could be without him for a longer period.

"Here, we have Smalling and Jones in the centre of defence, Lindelof is on the bench. Marcos Rojo is injured, but not seriously. All season, we have had problems with injuries to centre-backs. But Chris Smalling is playing very well, so we have no problems," said Mourinho.

Bailly picked up the injury while training with the Ivory Coast for a 2018 World Cup qualifier. He returned to Manchester after the game against Mali in October, and did not explain how he got injured.

Bailly is Mourinho's trusted stopper in front of David De Gea's goal, and if he is out for a long time, it will be a big disadvantage for Man Utd's hopes in trying to catch up with Man City.

According to VNE