Manchester United loanee Eric Bailly endures nightmare evening for Marseille which ends in injury

Eric Bailly had a night to forget in the Champions League on Tuesday evening when he was forced off early with injury after conceding the winning goal at home to Frankfurt.

The defender recently claimed that Manchester United favour selecting homegrown players in their line-ups over overseas players - something which he has received some push back on. After failing to play competitively for United in 2022, he secured a loan move to France for the season after Erik ten Hag managed to convince him to stay for pre-season.

The Ivorian’s spell at Old Trafford was blighted by injuries, which saw him sink below Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez in the centre-half pecking order. The 28-year-old’s Reds contract expires next summer and he is expected to depart after what will have then been a seven-year stay.

READ MORE : Eric Bailly accuses Manchester United of selection bias

Bailly has played six times for Marseille since his switch, two of which have come in the Champions League. He played the full 90 minutes in last week’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham but had to be substituted after 65 minutes in last night’s loss to Frankfurt.

Bailly couldn’t continue after picking up a knock during a tackle, his sixth separate issue since the start of the 2020/21 season. This came after finding himself out of position for Jesper Lindstrom’s 43rd-minute winner after losing a 50-50 ball.

The nature of the injury has not been clarified so it’s not known how long he could be out for. But it’s another step backwards for the United loanee, who has struggled for game time due to his persistent injury problems.

He failed to play a game for Ralf Rangnick after coming back from January’s Africa Cup of Nations with