PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Eric Bailly - Spurs loss shows how much Ivorian is missed by Man United

Eric Bailly (L) of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League match

Friday Feb 02, 2018. 19:00

Eric Bailly’s absence from the Manchester United line-up due to injury continues to hamper Jose Mourinho’s side.

While the Red Devils had put together a good run of results - and clean sheets - recently, on Wednesday night their weaknesses were exposed in a 2-0 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur.

Without Bailly, the centre-back pairing of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling were exposed time and again by Spurs’ attack.

In fact, the former even scored an unfortunate own goal to see the hosts go 2-0 up after Christian Eriksen’s first-minute opener.

The good news for United is that their 23-year-old Ivorian is not far away from returning, following ankle surgery he underwent in late 2017.

The hope is that he will be back for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie against Sevilla, which is set for Wednesday, 21 February.

In the meantime, Bailly will continue his recovery and Man United fans will hope their defence can find some solidity when they host Huddersfield Town for another Premier League clash this Saturday.