Cote d’Ivoire’s Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is set to miss the rest of the Premier League Season as well as the Africa Cup of Nations after he picked up an injury in his side’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.
The 25-year-old injured his medial ligament in a collision with Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic during the second half.
Manchester United has not disclosed how long the defender will stay out, but he is expected to miss the 2019 AFCON tournament that will be held from 21 June – 19 July in Egypt.
This year’s edition will be an expanded one, with 24 teams participating. Previous editions had 16 teams.
Cote d’Ivoire has been drawn against Morocco, South Africa and Namibia.
Bailly’s injury will now provide a selection headache for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both missed the Red Devils’ last game against Chelsea due to fitness concerns. With Bailly now unavailable, Victor Lindelof and Marcos Rojo are presumably the only fit defenders in those central positions.
United will play Huddersfield and Cardiff City in the last two games of the Premier League season.
