Matthijs de Ligt has taken his first steps towards a return to action for Manchester United.
De Ligt has been sidelined with a back injury since the end of November, meaning he is yet to play a game under new head coach Michael Carrick.
The Dutchman will miss Monday night’s Premier League clash against Brentford and Carrick has previously admitted that he is unsure the defender will feature before the end of the season.
“Matta's not quite at that stage yet, so it was important for him to continue his rehab really and try and get him back,” Carrick told reporters earlier in the month when asked for an update on De Ligt.
“It's different treatment and different exercises. He's in the gym and doing work but he's not quite on the grass and he's not ready for that yet.
“That's the process that unfortunately when you're injured you’ve to go through. Sometimes it happens quick quicker than others and sometimes there's things that don't quite go to plan and it's a bit slower.
“He's just at that stage where he's working through that at the moment and we're trying to get him back right.”
In a welcome sight on Friday, De Ligt stepped up his rehabilitation by taking part in a light individual session at the club’s Carrington base under the supervision of the club’s medical staff.
De Ligt then took to Instagram by posting several pictures of himself running and doing exercises with the ball, with a caption that read: "Working hard, getting closer".
Making progress 🔋 pic.twitter.com/rBgchleEt6
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 24, 2026
Along with De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez will miss the Brentford game through suspension but Leny Yoro could return after sitting out the win over Chelsea with a minor knock.
“To be honest, everything’s alright, as it was,” Carrick said when revealing the latest Man Utd team news.
“Couple of knocks and niggles a little bit, coming out of the game, that you’d expect.
“Patrick [Dorgu]’s working his way to being back. He’s certainly making good progress and back closer to training with us, which is positive, so that's good news.
“We’re still working on [Leny]. So, there’s a possibility, there’s a possibility, but at this stage, it’s not 100 per cent sure.”
