MATTHIJS DE Ligt could miss the rest of the season for Manchester United.
De Ligt has not played since November 30 due to a back injury and there is no timeframe on his return.
Former United coach Ruben Amorim initially said De Ligt would only be sidelined for a week.
United do not play for 24 days after their trek to Bournemouth on Friday night and have seven games in April and May.
When asked if De Ligt will not play again this season, United coach Michael Carrick said: “It’s difficult to say, just because it’s taken that much time.
“I can’t give you any more on it really. It’s one of those things with backs that sometimes you think it’s all right and then all of a sudden it’s not quite right.
“We’re just kind of being patient and working through it. We’ll just have to see.
“We’ll obviously give him time and try to get him back as quick as we can, but it’s really difficult to say.
“I’m not trying to hide anything, literally at the moment we don’t know so we’ll have to wait and see.
“It’s like any injury. It’s trying to get the balance right. Some are a little bit more straightforward than others.
“It kind of is what it is really. He’s improving, it’s not improving as quick as we all hope, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Carrick was reluctant to confirm whether De Ligt would require surgery: “I don’t want to get into that at this stage.
“I think we’ll obviously try and do whatever we can to help Matta.
“I think it’ll help getting back and whatever that takes. We’re working through that now at the moment to be honest.
“Hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later and everything will be fine and we can move on.”
De Ligt’s lengthy absence has been offset by the presence of Harry Maguire, who has started in all nine of Carrick’s games in charge.
Maguire, 33, is about to enter the final three months of his contract and discussions are ongoing over a renewal.
The England centre back earns around £200,000-a-week and is unwilling to take a pay cut.
Maguire could earn a recall to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, which will be announced on Friday morning.
“There are obviously talks going on in terms of what the squad’s going to look like come the end of the season and what it looks like after that,” Carrick explained.
“Harry’s done fantastic for us. I think it’s pretty obvious to say that. He’s had a big impact on what we’ve done, so we’ll have to see.
“I enjoy working with him. I think he’s been fantastic for this club. We’ll see what comes of that.”
