Man Utd: Erik ten Hag shares details of ‘misery’ in reaction to Ruben Amorim decision | Football | Sport

Erik ten Hag has opened up on Tyrell Malacia’s struggles at Manchester United and publicly admitted that he required a second surgery to fix a serious knee injury he suffered in 2023. Malacia left United on loan in January, joining PSV Eindhoven until the end of the season, and is believed to have played his final game for the club.

In the summer of 2022, Ten Hag brought the 25-year-old left-back to Old Trafford as his first signing in a £15million deal from Feyenoord.

Malacia made 39 appearances in all competitions across his debut season, featuring more prominently than expected due to Luke Shaw’s injury woes.

But he had to wait over 18 months for his final eight appearances for the club after a pre-season knee injury forced him to miss the entire 2023/24 campaign.

Malacia struggled to recalibrate under Ruben Amorim before returning to the Netherlands, which could become permanent for £8m this summer.

Ten Hag has shared slight details about his surgery frustration while looking ahead to the challenge of getting his career back on track at PSV.

“Those are, of course, excellent numbers for a young player in his first season. Tyrell simply did well that first year,” Ten Hag told Voetbal International.

“It is a shame for him and also for United that it went wrong afterwards and that two operations were needed instead of one.

“Hopefully, all the misery is now behind him, and he can focus on getting fully fit again and playing matches.”

He added: “It is especially important that Tyrell continues to make the right choices. In the attacking game that Peter Bosz wants to play, he must be able to make good use of his qualities.

“Tyrell is a back who is good in the build-up if he can play inverted if he comes on the inside. He is good on the ball and can handle himself well in small spaces.

“These are all things that he needs in PSV football. A bit like Dest also plays.

“He can come up and then go over them at speed on the outside, but he lacks a bit of real power, substance and a good final pass for that.”

Malacia made his PSV debut by playing 78 minutes in a 1-1 draw against Willem II last weekend.

He was an unused substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Juventus in Eredivisie side’s Champions League play-off first leg midweek.