Tyrell Malacia ended 17 months of injury problems by returning to action in Manchester United’s Under-21 team’s EFL Trophy tie against Huddersfield Town.
Left-back Malacia has been sidelined since coming on as a substitute in the Netherlands’ Nations League final defeat to Croatia in June 2023.
The 25-year-old has since undergone two knee surgeries as an injury proved much more complicated than initially thought and a comeback planned for February had to be cancelled.
Malacia made 39 appearances for United in 2022-23, his first season at the club.
In front of technical director Jason Wilcox, academy boss Nick Cox and first-team coach Darren Fletcher, Malacia completed the first 45 minutes before being replaced by Harry Amass.
The £13m signing from Feyenoord largely played within him. After 15 minutes, he made his first run down the left side before turning to play the ball back.
He settled into the game and gave Rhys Healey a friendly touch as he ran after a physical fight that ended with the Huddersfield striker being tackled to the ground. Huddersfield won the game 4-1.
It remains to be seen how quickly Malacia will be able to return to first-team duties after his long absence. United’s under-21 team will make another appearance in the National League Cup at Altrincham on November 19.
Malacia’s appearance came on the day new coach Ruben Amorim met some members of United’s senior squad at the club’s training ground in Carrington.
Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were doing rehabilitation work on their various injuries when Amorim came on.
It will likely be next week before Amorim does any serious training work. Their in-form non-international players have been given some time off, while the majority of their international players will not return until the middle of next week, meaning there will be limited preparation time for Amorim’s opening match. as manager at Ipswich Town on November 24.
