Ruben Amorim gets early injury boost as Erik ten Hag favourite makes long-awaited Manchester United return

Tyrell Malacia made his long-awaited return to action for Manchester United on Tuesday night, with the defender playing in the Under-21s EFL Trophy clash against Huddersfield Town.

The Dutchman has not played a game for United since the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season and it has been 517 days since his last senior appearance, coming in a Netherlands Nations League match against Croatia in June 2023.

Few expected when he sustained a knee injury ahead of Erik ten Hag’s second season in charge that he would spend the guts of 18 months on the sidelines. It took two operations to correct the issue and Malacia has been slowly building up his fitness for several months.

The left-back began working on the grass in July and returned to team training in November. Just last week Ruud van Nistelrooy hinted his return with the Under-21s could be soon.

“Tyrell is the furthest, he’s part of team training for a couple of weeks now, full in team training, no restrictions. It’s good for him to plan game minutes, maybe in the Under-21s, we have to see,” said the interim coach.

But Malacia’s return at The John Smith's Stadium was perhaps a little sooner than fans had anticipated. The ex-Feyenoord man played 50 minutes in a performance where he was clearly easing himself back in. There were few forward sprints or physical tussles, but United will just be pleased to see Malacia back out on the pitch.

His injury last season was compounded by Luke Shaw’s absence, which has continued into this campaign. It meant Ten Hag was forced to field a side with no left-back since February, although Shaw is also targeting a return to the side and was last week back in training.

Malacia - a Ten Hag favourite - made 39 appearances in his first season at Old Trafford and his selection often resulted in Shaw playing at centre-back.

Meanwhile, a 4-1 defeat against Huddersfield on Tuesday night saw United crash out of the EFL Trophy. Remarkably, of the 16 Premier League sides whose Under-21s entered the competition, only Aston Villa have progressed to the next round.