Manchester United cannot afford to ignore problem position in dressing room

Last season, it took a few months to clarify why Tyrell Malacia had been absent.

Malacia had not been seen since reporting for the first day of Manchester United's pre-season last July and the Manchester Evening News were the first to explain his absence.

After being pictured at Carrington on the day that routine fitness tests are completed, Malacia had been absent from last summer's pre-season friendlies and the MEN exclusively confirmed in October the defender had undergone knee surgery and was recovering from that issue.

Malacia sustained the knee injury during his first season in Manchester and the club initially looked to manage it with pain injections, but surgery was eventually required.

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It's understood the player was on crutches after the injury and spent some time in the Netherlands to recover, and a source indicated he was expected to return before the New Year.

Malacia duly returned to light training shortly after the story was published, completing individual work, but he suffered another setback and further surgery was required.

After two rounds of knee surgery, United expected Malacia to be available for the second half of the campaign and Sergio Reguilon's loan was cut short in the January transfer window, but he didn't return to fitness and Luke Shaw suffered muscle injuries to compound the left-back problem.

United were left with egg on their face and Erik ten Hag was forced to manage for the remainder of the season without a senior left-back, using makeshift options instead.

He said in March: “You can accept in a position that a player is not available but when two players are not