MANCHESTER UNITED’S defensive woes continued as Eric Bailly was injured on international duty with the Ivory Coast.
The centre-back suffered a hamstring blow and is now a doubt for United’s Premier League clash with Newcastle on October 17.
Bailly was seen clutching the back of his right leg in the 1-1 friendly draw against Belgium on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old hobbled off just after the hour-mark after worryingly going down off the ball.
He had started the game – along with Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha – on the right of a back three.
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Bailly had regained a starting spot alongside Red Devils skipper Harry Maguire before the international break.
But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s defensive duo flopped in the humiliating 6-1 defeat against Spurs at Old Trafford last weekend.
The two exchanged sloppy headers before Maguire hauled down team-mate Luke Shaw in the build-up to Tanguy Ndombele bagging Spurs’ first goal in the rout.
The Norwegian boss had decided to replace Swede Victor Lindelof with Bailly in his starting XI.
But the injury-prone defender may have had his chances of a run in the side scuppered.
Bailly has been continually plagued with knee and ankle problems since arriving at Old Trafford from Villarreal in 2016.
And United will assess the severity of the strain by running tests upon his return to Carrington.
He is likely to face a minimum of three to four weeks out with a slight tear but could face up to THREE months out if scans reveal the worst-case scenario of a full tear.
