That is not to say Malacia is at ease with how it worked out at Old Trafford, even if there is at least an understanding of where Michael Carrick was coming from when the door was closed on the defender leaving in January to ensure United had enough cover if Luke Shaw got injured – which, ironically given how the current campaign is turning out, he never did.
The problem started when Malacia returned for pre-season training in the summer of 2023.
As he recounted in an interview with The Athletic in November 2024, Malacia had ended the 2022-23 campaign feeling discomfort in his left knee. He hoped it would go away in the summer, but it did not. He returned to the Netherlands for surgery, but the healing process did not go as planned and he needed a second operation.
Malacia does not want to go into details but, when he eventually made his comeback, for the Under-21 side in an EFL Trophy defeat at Huddersfield, he expected it to be the start of a road back to the first team, which by now was under the control of Amorim after Ten Hag’s dismissal.
“I had a good first season and then I had my injury,” said Malacia. “I don’t want to talk too much about it, but certain things happened in my rehab.
“Ruben came in when I just got back from my injury. He gave me a couple of games, but I had come back after a year and a half. Imagine not playing for a year and a half and adapting to everything, especially in the best league in the world and playing for such a big club. It takes time.
“As a player you need to understand if you play for a big club like Manchester United, sometimes you don’t get the time.”
Malacia made eight appearances before joining PSV Eindhoven on loan for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
“Even at that time I still wasn’t 100%, but it was good for me to get game time and adapting to the game,” he said.
“After that period of six months, I came back in summer I thought ‘OK, now it’s going happen, I’m going to get a fair chance’.”
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