Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been given an early Christmas present with news summer signing Eric Bailly will be available for selection for the festive period, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Bailly, 22, made an impressive start to life at United following his surprise £30m switch from Villarreal over the summer before suffering knee ligament damage in United’s 4-0 defeat to Chelsea over a month ago.
The Ivory Coast international hasn’t been available for United since but is ahead of schedule in his recovery process and should be back playing before Christmas, with games against Tottenham or Crystal Palace in mind.
Bailly will not be hurried back for their EFL Cup match against West Ham on Wednesday, nor will he be included in the squad to play Everton at the weekend. Mourinho will also reportedly leave the defender in Manchester when his side travel to Ukraine to play Zorya in the Europa League next Thursday, before considering him for selection when they host Tottenham on December 11.
In Bailly’s absence, United have only kept three clean sheets in seven matches in all competitions. Only Ander Herrera (3.4) averages more interceptions per game in the Premier League this season than Bailly (3.3).
For more stats on Eric Bailly, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
