Four months and counting - De Ligt's wait goes on

Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt spent last week at the club's Carrington training ground having treatment and doing rehab work on his back injury [Getty Images]

"Licha back in the squad. Harry's new contract. Good day to be a centre-half" - so crowed the Manchester United Instagram account last Tuesday lunchtime.

Try telling that to Matthijs de Ligt.

Unlike Lisandro 'Licha' Martinez and Harry Maguire, and Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven for that matter, De Ligt did not spend the week in the plush surroundings of the Carton House Hotel in Maynooth, 20 miles outside Dublin.

While most United players were having a getaway, De Ligt was back in Manchester, keeping himself in shape for the point, as yet undetermined, when he gets the green light to start playing again.

The 26-year-old's absence from Michael Carrick's 25-man squad was particularly noticeable because Patrick Dorgu was in it.

Dorgu is back 'out on the grass', in football speak, after his recent hamstring issue, so it was felt worthwhile to bring him along even though he was not going to be involved in Monday's Premier League encounter with Roses rivals Leeds at Old Trafford.

Therein lies the problem.

As Dorgu suffered a muscular issue in the closing minutes of Manchester United's win at Arsenal in January, the club's medical staff knew what they were dealing with: eight to 10 weeks, give or take, and the Denmark international could start pushing again, hence his presence in Maynooth.

De Ligt is not in the same position.

Multiple sources acknowledge that despite his status as a professional athlete – and the medical facilities available to him - the Dutchman is in the same position as anyone else managing a back problem.

That is to say that one day it might feel OK, but the next day not so much.

De Ligt – and interim United boss Carrick – need to be sure his back can cope with the physical toll that comes with preparing for, and playing in, Premier League matches.

There have been periods when it was felt De Ligt was getting close. Sources have said he has also been 'on the grass' at times. This is not one of those times.

It is not being categorised as a setback. If De Ligt feels OK, he can do work outside. If he doesn't, he can't. Unlike with a muscular problem, the situation can change very quickly.

De Ligt has not played for United since the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on 30 November.

Former head coach Ruben Amorim was not being deliberately misleading when, after De Ligt missed his first game of the season against West Ham in December, he told Sky Sports the problem was "a small thing" and he expected the defender to be available for the next game, against Wolves four days later.

At that stage, that is what Amorim genuinely felt. Those around him were also making plans that suggested he would be playing again pretty soon.

Sadly for De Ligt, an outstanding performer for United in the early months of the season, that is not what happened.

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De Ligt upbeat but chances of return this season receding

It is over four months since De Ligt last played.

While sources stress his mood is good and he remains optimistic about a return before the end of the campaign, he is also acutely aware there will need to be some kind of lead-in time and games are running out.

There is also the reality that with United within touching distance of securing a return to the Champions League, which may prove decisive in Carrick getting the full-time head coaching role, the man in charge is unlikely to take risks with player availability.

Asked about the possibility last month, before the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, Carrick said he did not want to talk about surgery as a possible remedy to De Ligt's problem. It is understood that is not a path the player is speaking about either.

There is a good reason for that.

No two cases are the same, but Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams' recovery from back surgery in the summer of 2024 went well. It was nearly four months before he was ready to start games. There are other examples of absences stretching on far longer.

For now, De Ligt's wait goes on. Tuesday was a good day for Martinez and Maguire, but for another of Manchester United's central defenders, it was a familiar and frustrating one, which Carrick outlined when he spoke to media before the Leeds game.

"Just treatment and rehab," was his answer when asked what De Ligt had been doing at United's Carrington training base while his team-mates had their enjoyable camp on the other side of the Irish Sea.

"The reason he didn't come, and Patrick did, is that Patrick is a little bit further on."

But what does treatment and rehab look like?

Carrick tried to make a joke of the situation, but there was a serious undertone.

"You're not trying to ask me to dissect his day?" he said.

"It's different treatment and different exercises. He's obviously in the gym and he's doing work, but he's not ready for the grass yet.

"Unfortunately, that's the kind of process you have to go through when you're injured.

"Sometimes it happens quicker; sometimes there's things that don't quite go to plan and it's a bit slower.

"He's working through that at the moment and we're trying to get him back right."

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