M. Carrick will not push for M. de Ligt's return.

2026-04-27 14:30 © AFP

Since November, due to an injury, Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt may not appear on the pitch for the rest of the season.

The 26-year-old Dutchman is recovering from a back injury, although initially the then-Man Utd coach Ruben Amorim emphasized that the Dutchman would be out of the lineup for a short time.

However, it later became clear that the injury is somewhat more serious, but M. de Ligt started training separately from his teammates last week.

Red Devils manager Michael Carrick stated that he hopes to see the defender on the pitch as soon as possible, but does not plan to rush his return.

"I hoped that we would still see him this season, but I don't want to talk about specific timelines. Both we and Matthijs are working to have him back in our squad as soon as possible.

There are still chances for him to be on the pitch this season, but we definitely are not going to rush or force anything. De Ligt will return when he is fully ready," Michael Carrick is quoted by the portal Goal.