The last time Matthijs de Ligt played for Man United was 110 days ago, in the victory over Crystal Palace in November 2025. At that time, the "Red Devils" were still led by Ruben Amorim.
At that time, Ruben Amorim said De Ligt's injury was "not too serious" and the Dutch center-back could return in the match against Wolves on December 8, 2025. However, since then, De Ligt has not been able to play and has not been able to set a return date.
In the press conference before the match against Bournemouth, when asked about whether De Ligt could reappear this season, captain Michael Carrick could not give an answer. The newly arrived English coach did not grasp the specific situation when De Ligt was injured and only received information from the medical team afterwards.
With a back injury, sometimes you think everything is okay, but in reality it is not anymore. The recovery process is too long and I cannot provide any further information.
The team always gives De Ligt time and will be patient to monitor the situation. He will return, but we are not sure when it will be.
I have nothing to hide about De Ligt's injury situation, in fact the coaching staff cannot make any definite statements, we have to wait" - Carrick shared.
Besides monitoring De Ligt's injury, Carrick and his colleagues must also be very careful once this center-back is determined to be able to play again. There are many cases where players are considered stable, return to play and relapse immediately. Since then, the time to leave the field cannot be set and is often very long.
If De Ligt cannot return from now until the end of the season, Carrick still has to prioritize the remaining stars in the center-back position. Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire are the stars being rotated for the position De Ligt left behind. In the most ideal case, the center-back pair of the "Red Devils" will be De Ligt - Lisandro Martinez, but both players are very likely to get injured.
Therefore, if in the next season it is assessed that De Ligt is unlikely to play regularly, Man United should gradually consider adding personnel to this area when Maguire may also leave in the summer of 2026.
Since the beginning of the season, De Ligt has only played 13 matches in the Premier League and 1 match in the League Cup. He has 1 goal and has not received any cards. The Dutch center-back was brought in to become a pillar in the defense, but that expectation is gradually fading as injuries are gradually destroying the former Ajax center-back at the peak of his career.
