Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Provides Early Update on Eric Bailly After Pre-Season Knee Injury

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that centre-back Eric Bailly will undergo 'scans and checks' to gauge the severity of the knee

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that centre-back Eric Bailly will undergo 'scans and checks' to gauge the severity of the knee injury he suffered during Thursday's pre-season meeting with Tottenham in Shanghai.

A half-time substitute as Solskjaer replaced his entire team at the break, Bailly cruelly had to be stretched off within minutes of coming on and was later pictured leaving the stadium on crutches and with his left knee supported in a brace.

Eric Bailly leaving the stadium on crutches with his left knee in a brace. Doesn’t look good. pic.twitter.com/HwBhvhoLXA

— Rob Dawson (@RobDawsonESPN) July 25, 2019

The United boss admitted the situation 'doesn't look great', and it is potentially another huge blow for a player whose three-year career at Old Trafford has been dogged by injuries.

"It seems that he's twisted his knee so we just have to do some scans and checks on him. At first sight, it doesn't look great but let's see how it goes," Solskjaer told MUTV.

The worst-case scenario for Bailly would obviously be ACL damage that could rule him out for most of the 2019/20 season - Marco Asensio has already suffered that fate at Real Madrid.

Bailly had only recently to action returned from a medial ligament injury in his right knee that ruled him out of this summer's African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.

Will Russell/GettyImages

A combination of fitness issues and poor form limited the former Villarreal defender to just eight Premier League starts last season, while he missed close to four months of 2017/18 as a result of an ankle injury. He also suffered a knee problem just a few weeks after arriving in 2016.

United had already been trying to sign a new centre-back this summer, but whether Bailly's injury speeds things up in that respect remains to be seen. Negotiations with Leicester over Harry Maguire have been ongoing for some time but a final deal is still yet to be fully agreed.