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Topics: Tyrell Malacia, Manchester United, Premier League, FA Cup
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Tyrell Malacia, Manchester United, Premier League, FA Cup
Tyrell Malacia was given an FA Cup winners' medal by his teammate after Manchester United overcome the odds to beat Manchester City.
The 24-year-old defender, who signed for United from Feyenoord in 2022 for around £15 million, has not played for the Premier League club since undergoing surgery on a knee injury last summer.
In fact, he last featured for the Reds in a 2-1 win over Fulham in May 2023.
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But on Tuesday night, Malacia stepped up his recovery as he made an appearance for United under-21's in their EFL Trophy clash against Huddersfield Town.
He was replaced by Harry Amass as part of a pre-planned substitution at half-time.
Malacia was rarely seen last season as he continued his rehabilitation but he was present at the FA Cup final in May, when first-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo sealed a memorable win.
He would later join his United teammates as they lifted the trophy; something he initially was uncertain about.
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Speaking to The Athletic in a lengthy interview, Malacia explained: "Of course, I wanted to be there to support everyone but, for me, the most difficult part was to be up there with the guys (for the trophy presentation), because I wasn’t part of the team during the whole process."
Casemiro, meanwhile, was insistent on his participation in the trophy presentation. In fact, the Brazilian midfielder gave Malacia his winners' medal.
He added: “I was like, ‘I’m staying down here and you guys just enjoy it, then I’ll see you in the dressing room’. He [Casemiro] was like, ‘Nah, you have to go up there as well’. And if someone with that kind of experience tells you that, you’re listening.”
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It's fair to say the rest of the squad wanted him to be there after such a difficult period out with injury.
“They said, ‘At the end of the day, you’re still part of the team’. I’ve been in a dressing room the whole season and seen everything," Malacia added. "They know how hard I’ve been working every day to come back to the team and everything, so they said you deserve it as much as we do.”