Tyrell Malacia and Bruno Fernandes in conversation at Manchester United's Carrington training ground
Tyrell Malacia and Bruno Fernandes in conversation at Manchester United's Carrington training ground
Bruno Fernandes showed his Manchester United captaincy credentials once again on Thursday night with a heartfelt message to Tyrell Malacia after he broke his year-and-a-half-long silence on social media.
Malacia has been in an unenviable position since the summer of 2023 when he picked up a knee injury which forced him out of the pre-season tour of the United States. However, the Dutchman was not to know how bad things were about to get for him as a series of compilations and false dawns meant he missed the entirety of last season.
His United future looked to be in serious doubt when he missed this year's pre-season tour and only eventually returned to the starting line-up following Erik ten Hag's dismissal. However, with a lack of options on the left-hand side, Malacia has been fazed back into the team and on Thursday night played 61 minutes as the Reds beat Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.
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After the match, Malacia posted on his Instagram profile for the first time (excluding stories) since July 2023. In a post captioned: "Trademark," the 25-year-old shared a selection of images from Czechia that was met with plenty of support from his United teammates.
Amad, Marcus Rashford and Leny Yoro were among the United players to like the post but it was Fernandes who led the way with a perfect message for the full-back. In the comments he wrote: "Getting better and better my guy," with a love heart emoji.
The next goal for Malacia will now be to complete 90 minutes for United and keep his place in the starting line-up. Next up for the Reds is a trip across the city to face Manchester City in the Premier League.