Manchester United beat Brighton 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after the match: "Unfortunately for Eric [Bailly], he won't be with us for a little while because he's been away with the Ivory Coast and tested positive for COVID"
Sunday 4 April 2021 23:00, UK
Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly has tested positive for coronavirus while on international duty and is yet to return to the UK, boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed.
United beat Brighton 2-1 on Sunday, with boss Solskjaer asked about Bailly's absence after the match after he was not named in the matchday squad.
"Unfortunately for Eric, he won't be with us for a little while because he's been away with the Ivory Coast and tested positive for COVID," Solskjaer said. "So unfortunately he's not back in the country yet."
Prior to Sunday's victory over the Seagulls, the 26-year-old had been an unused substitute in United's previous two Premier League fixtures - wins over West Ham and Manchester City - after playing the full match against Palace last month, which ended 0-0.
His last appearance for United came in the Europa League, starting and playing 90 minutes as United drew 1-1 with AC Milan in their last-16 first-leg tie on March 11. He missed the second leg through injury, as United progressed.
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial could be out for the rest of the season after spraining his knee, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also confirmed.
Martial, 25, sustained the injury while on international duty with France and could now face a race against time to be fit for this summer's European Championships.
The striker was absent from United's matchday squad for Sunday's visit of Brighton in the Premier League with Edinson Cavani starting in his place.
Solskjaer told MUTV: "Unfortunately he's sprained his knee with France... losing Anthony for what might be the rest of the season is very disappointing, especially when the reports and signals are from there that it wasn't [anything] serious, but it looks a bad one, yeah."
However, Solskjaer offered a more positive update in a separate interview ahead of the game.
"He sprained his knee with France and it looks like he'll be out for a few weeks, definitely," he told BT Sport. "But we hope to get him back before the end of the season but we're not sure."
