A lot has been said about Eric Bailly’s future in the last few days.

The Ivorian is Manchester United’s best defender when fit, but he has been struggling to get in the team as of late.

A combination of illness and injury has limited the 24-year-old to just 10 starts in the Premier League this season.

And he’s only made two starts in England’s top tier since November.

It has been reported that Bailly was back to full fitness for Man United’s 2-1 victory against Arsenal on Sunday, but Mourinho gave Victor Lindelof the nod in defence instead.

In fact, Bailly was not even given a place on the bench, with Marcos Rojo preferred instead.

And it has been believed that this shun from Mourinho has gone down very badly with Bailly, leaving the Ivorian worried about his future.

BAILLY MISSES MAN UTD’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

His future has raised alarm bells with Man United fans.

And those fears that he could leave in the summer were only intensified when it was revealed that Bailly had missed the club’s Player of the Year awards on Tuesday night.

Romelu Lukaku was the only other Man United player to miss the wards night, although it has been revealed that he was given permission to miss the event as he recovers from a knee injury.

No news was given at the time regarding Bailly’s absence.

But the Manchester Evening News have now offered a reason why he missed the event - and it seems there’s not much to worry about.

The publication reveal how Bailly was again suffering from illness.

And he was given permission to miss the night as a result.

It seems there isn’t much to worry about… yet.

If Mourinho continues to leave Bailly out for the rest of the season, however, there could well be truth to the reports linking him away from the club.

Why Mourinho would want to get rid of the best defender at the club, though, would be anyone’s guess.