Manchester United plan for Tyrell Malacia comeback plus Leny Yoro update

Leny Yoro has returned to training after an operation in the summer and Tyrell Malacia is close to his first Man Utd appearance since May 2023.

Tyrell Malacia is close to making a comeback for Manchester United and could feature for the Under-21s this month as he steps up his recovery.

The left-back hasn't played a United game since May 2023 after suffering a serious knee injury that required two operations, but he has been back in full training for a couple of weeks.

Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has revealed that Malacia is targeting games for the Under-21s in Premier League 2 before looking to make a first-team comeback under Ruben Amorim, who will take over as head coach on Monday.

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Malacia's return could ease United's ongoing issues at left-back, with Luke Shaw still training on his own, while Harry Maguire's rehabilitation continues to take place in the gym.

"Tyrell is the furthest [along], he’s part of team training for a couple of weeks now, fly in team training, no restrictions," said Van Nistelrooy. "It’s good for him to plan game minutes, maybe in the Under-21s, we have to see.

"Harry is still inside working on his rehab and Luke does work like he did today and he’s progressing there to do partial team training soon."

United were handed a boost on Wednesday with £52million summer addition Leny Yoro training for the first time since injuring his foot in July.

He took part in the early stages of the session before doing more individual work and his comeback will be stepped up over the coming weeks.

"He’s been managed very well after his injury in pre-season, it was going to be a long one. It’s a big moment for him, the first time he’s back in team training. We’ll get him back partially over the coming weeks and look to get him on board as quick as possible," said Van Nistelrooy, who confirmed Marcus Rashford did extra work individually before joining the group session.

Injuries have been a constant issue for United over the last 18 months and Van Nistelrooy was unable to explain why the squad has been so severely affected.

"I don’t know, I couldn’t comment on that, for me it’s important I focus on players currently fit," he said. "It wasn’t an easy period over the last week but the players reacted really well with the Leicester game and Chelsea game and we’re looking to build on that."