Experiencing discomfort in his knee, he decided to have surgery during pre-season and did not travel with the rest of Erik ten Hag’s squad to the US in July.

But after some light training in front of the media three months later, a scan revealed fragments of the cartilage remained around the meniscus.

Corrective surgery was performed that pushed back Malacia’s return, before Man Utd confirmed he would be “on course to return to action early next year”.

However, this has not materialised and The Athletic now understand the defender is not expected to play for the remainder of the season.

It is a frustrating situation for Ten Hag – who has been without a recognised left-back for 22 of Man Utd’s 43 games this season, with Luke Shaw also suffering injury issues.

Third choice Sergio Reguilon saw his loan terminated in January, with Ten Hag insisting last month he had done so because the medical team told him both Malacia and Shaw would be returning.

He said: “They assured me they [Shaw and Malacia] will both be fit in January and so you will have two left full-backs

“Then you have a third one, so I would always have to disappoint one full-back.”

But three months on from the mid-season window and there is no sign of Malacia – who has also not posted on Instagram in nine months.

His only appearances since last summer have been to model ForevaDifferent clothing, a fashion brand owned by his childhood friend.

Due to the length of Malacia’s absence from the team, there are now concerns on both sides that the proper procedures were not followed correctly.

Those specific concerns include a lack of attention from Man Utd’s medical department, and the fact that Malacia returned to the Netherlands in the summer and failed to update the club on his progress.

Individuals close to the player claim this was because he did not do any rehabilitation work in the summer as he was still on crutches following the surgery.

Malacia has been rehabilitating away from Man Utd’s Carrington training ground over the last few weeks in what the club hopes is the final part of his recovery.

He is scheduled to arrive back at Carrington this week, but he will continue to travel between Manchester, Barcelona and the Netherlands until he can return to first-team training.

His recovery is set to take until the final stages of the season, but there is not expected to be any long-term impact as he eyes a complete rehabilitation.