Former Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia has revealed he had no discussions with Ruben Amorim about being placed in the club's 'bomb squad', describing the experience as "tough mentally". The 27-year-old, who left Old Trafford during the summer, was forced to train away from the first-team set-up alongside Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho.
No explanation for exile
Speaking to BBC Sport, Malacia said he was left training alone after the other exiled players secured moves away from the club. "I don't know where that came from, I don't know if it was Ruben or higher up or anything, but I never said anything about it, I just kept working and doing my thing even though it was difficult sometimes training in a group of five," he said.
"At some point Marcus, Garnacho and even Antony left. Then I stayed on my own, training with the second team, even with the under-18s and below. It's tough. It's tough mentally."
Injury and return
Malacia made eight appearances after returning from a long-term injury, having been sidelined for a year and a half. "I had a good first season and then I had my injury," he told BBC Sport. "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."
Fresh start that never came
The defender joined PSV Eindhoven on loan for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign, hoping for a fresh start upon his return. "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'."
Malacia said he kept working despite the difficult circumstances. "I could have said 'OK, I'm not coming into training'. But I thought 'that's not going to help me'. It's a reason for them to say 'this is the reason you are with them or training on your own'. I just kept my head down and did the work."
He added: "I always stayed fit since I came back from my injury, but people didn't know that. They were like 'why is he not playing?'"
