Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia stepped away from social media during his prolonged absence from football.

He was mentally challenged during a 517-day spell on the sidelines due to a serious knee injury and felt it wasn't wise to spend hours reading what others were saying about him online.

Malacia sustained the knee injury at the end of the 2022/23 season and the club initially looked to manage it with pain injections, but surgery was eventually deemed necessary.

READ MORE: Manchester United's best summer signing could be given a new role this week

READ MORE: Marcus Rashford has just sent strongest transfer message since Man United exit admission

He spent some time in the Netherlands to recover but required another operation on the same knee, and the Manchester Evening News were first to reveal why Malacia had been absent, clarifying that he'd undergone surgery after weeks of speculation from fans.

And it was the speculation that Malacia wanted to stay away from. There was a lack of communication from the club on his situation and conspiracy theories were rife across social media.

“No, nothing was true. No, no, I’ve just been doing my rehab," said Malacia about the theories on his extended absence. "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.

"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."

Those quotes were given to The Athletic shortly after Malacia's return to the pitch, which came for the Under-21s' in a game against Huddersfield Town in the EFL Trophy in November.

Malacia said he felt like 's***' during his recovery from two operations, but remained positive throughout the lengthy process, so it was great to see him back on grass against Huddersfield and he's since been welcomed back into the first-team fold by Ruben Amorim.

The Dutchman overcame the most challenging period of his career by recovering from a mammoth lay-off, but it was inevitable he would face another challenge after returning - fighting for his United future

He fell out of favour with Erik ten Hag during his first season at the club and was demoted to a back-up role, meaning he had plenty to prove after a prolonged absence. How much ability would Malacia retain? Would the knee injury have a negative impact? Those questions were lingering and have probably been answered across the last few months.

Malacia marked his return to the first-team with a start against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on November 28 but was substituted at half-time after an unconvincing 45 minutes.

Bodo/Glimt player Philip Zinckernagel outpaced Malacia for his side's second goal, although he was entitled to a below par performance given he was blowing away the cobwebs.

Malacia then started against Arsenal at the Emirates and it seemed like Amorim was asking for trouble by selecting him against one of Europe's finest wingers, but he delivered a strong display and dealt with the threat of Bukayo Saka before again being substituted at the interval.

Since then, Malacia has played 60 minutes against Viktoria Plzen, 45 minutes against Bournemouth and 30 minutes against Arsenal in the FA Cup, so he's not been heavily involved.

His worst display came in the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth where he conceded the free-kick for their opening goal, and the evidence available suggests he should be on the move this summer.

It's been excellent to see Malacia playing football again but it's fair to suggest he's below the level required. United are also expected to sign a first-choice left-back at the end of the window, which means Malacia is likely to feel a move away would be the best option for his career.

Malacia is 25 and spent a large chunk of time out of action. He will be desperate to play regularly after missing out for 517 days and could be third or fourth choice at United by next season.