As TYRELL MALACIA’s return from illness got closer, his Manchester United teammates gave him a new player initiation.

Malacia, who is 25, hasn’t played football in Fifteen MONTHS.

He played his last game in a competitive game for the Netherlands in the Uefa Nations League in June 2023. A month later, he had surgery to fix a knee injury.

He had to have a second surgery because of problems that came up after the first one. This kept him out of action for even longer.

The left-back, on the other hand, has been slowly making his way back into the lineup.

Two months ago, the club put out video of Malacia doing some light running.

Today, Malacia was seen working with his Manchester United teammates.

In a video of his return to play after more than a year away, he ran through a group of teammates and was slapped on the head as part of a rite called “player tunnel.”

Fans were happy to see that the defender was welcomed back to practice.

Someone liked him on Facebook and wrote, “So happy for him.”

“Glad to see him back,” said someone else.

Someone said: “Amad was randomly waiting to hit him with the ball on his head.”

A fourth person said, “Good vibes.”

Early this month, Erik ten Hag, Malacia’s boss, said, “Of course, we want to motivate him to return, but it’s not so easy when you’ve been away for so long.”

“He’s been hurt for over a season now and is just now getting better, but he’s working very hard and making great progress.”

“He’s taking big steps, so we think we can quickly include him in team training. He’s great, so it makes sense.”

“I also think he’ll be able to play games again soon.”

Ten Hag also said that he would not rush Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund back from illness because of what happened in the club’s medical room last season.

United played Crystal Palace in the evening on Saturday, hoping to build on their recent wins over Southampton (3-0) and Barnsley (7-0).