Malacia will return before the New Year after undergoing surgery on his knee

Tyrell Malacia has been absent so far this season for Manchester United due to a knee injury which required surgery, according to reports.

The Dutch defender joined United from Feyenoord for £13million last summer and played 39 times in all competitions in 2022-23.

He endured a solid debut campaign as he impressed with his performances while providing depth and competition to Luke Shaw at left back.

However, Malacia - who is currently one of eight injury absentees for Erik ten Hag - last played on the final day of the season against Fulham in May and was ruled out of pre-season and is yet to return.

And, according to the Manchester Evening News, the left back has been recovering from surgery which he underwent to deal with an ongoing knee injury.

The report goes onto state he picked up the knock last season but originally played on - with United aimining to manage it through injections, before surgery was eventually required.

Malacia last played football when he featured for the Netherlands in their Nations League semi-final defeat to Croatia in June and was left on crutches following the surgery as he spent some time in his homeland to recover.

He is now back in Manchester and is expected to return to action before the New Year.

Malacia's injury has come at a time Ten Hag has faced a severe shortage of full-backs, with Shaw also currently absent with an unknown muscle injury.

Meanwhile, Sergio Reguilon was signed on loan from Tottenham as an emergency left back to fill in in Malacia and Shaw's absence, but he too is currently out with a hamstring strain.

Right back Aaron-Wan Bissaka has also picked up a hamstring problem, meaning Sofyan Amrabat and Victor Lindelof have been forced to play out of position at left back in recent weeks.

Speaking ahead of their season opener against Wolves, Ten Hag was asked about Malacia's fitness.

'Malacia's will take some time,' he said. '(It's) the same as Amad (Diallo) and Kobbie (Mainoo), they are really impact injuries.'

Then on August 25, he added: 'It will also take a few weeks before he will be back.'

United picked up a crucial 2-1 win over Brentford in the final game before the international break thanks to Scott McTominay's injury-time brace.

However, it has still been a dismal start to the campaign with the Red Devils having won four and lost four of their top flight matches, while they are also bottom of their Champions League group following defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.