TYRELL MALACIA has responded to wild conspiracy theories that emerged online during his lengthy injury lay-off.
The Manchester United left-back, 25, has not featured for the Red Devils since the final Premier League game of the 2022/23 season in May last year.
He has been plagued by a recurring knee problem, but returned to the pitch earlier this week in an U21s game against Huddersfield in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
Dutchman Malacia posted very little on social media during his 17-month absence, leading fans to speculate about his whereabouts.
Outlandish theories were dreamt up by conspiracy theorists on social media, including that he’d entered witness protection.
But Malacia has now quashed any of those suggestions.
Speaking to The Athletic, he said: “No, nothing was true. No, no. I’ve just been doing my rehab.
“Especially when I was in Holland, I was close to my family — so just training, family, sleeping; training, family, sleeping. The only thing I’ve done.”
He continued: “First of all, I’m not really a guy who’s on social media a lot.
“If it wasn’t my cousin or my mum sending me this, I wouldn’t even know. Most of the time, a week after I’d find out they were saying this or that.
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“As long as my family and I know I’m good, it’s enough. The most important thing is that I know I’m good.”
During his time on the sideline, Malacia’s dad fell ill and his grandmother – who he describes as “my second mum” – passed away.
Amid this difficult time, he kept a low profile and remained very private.
On his dad, he said: “It’s a bit difficult, because I’m not like a guy who talks about these types of things, but my dad got sick.
“He wasn’t able to walk anymore. For my family, it was a big, big impact. It’s still difficult sometimes.”
But social media discussions about where he was still got back to him through friends when he was in Holland.
He said: “People were saying ‘are you not worried or don’t want to say anything’, especially friends around me, because other people were asking them because they couldn’t get through to me.
“They were asking me, ‘Don’t you want to say something publicly about it?’
“I was like, ‘No, because I’m not on the internet a lot, I don’t get all this information. If you guys didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t even know. I’m fine’.”
Malacia’s imminent return is an early boost to new manager Ruben Amorim as he looks towards his first game in charge away at Ipswich on November 24.
He played 39 games during his first season but did not feature at all in the 2023/24 campaign.
He has revealed Casemiro gave him his FA Cup winner’s medal after they triumphed at Wembley last season.
