Timothy Fosu-Mensah: Former Man United defender reveals injury struggle

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The Peoples Person

·3 March 2026

Timothy Fosu-Mensah: Former Man United defender reveals injury struggle

Former Manchester United player Timothy Fosu-Mensah has endured a nightmare career since leaving Old Trafford.

United career

The Dutchman joined Manchester United’s academy in 2014 from Ajax.

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He made his debut for the first team in the 2015–2016 season and played a total of 30 times for the Red Devils.

During his time in England, he had loan spells in London at Crystal Palace and Fulham.

He joined Bayer Leverkusen permanently from Manchester United in 2021, but over four seasons he was plagued by injuries.

Fosu-Mensah only managed 30 games for the German club during this time and left in 2024.

The Dutch international is currently without a club after leaving Bayer Leverkusen and has spoken to ESPN (via Voetbal Primeur) about his struggles.

Injury struggles

Despite not playing a competitive match since 2023, the former Manchester United man explained, “I’m an added value for plenty of teams. I train a lot with other players. I’m in a specific situation where you have to deal with others in the same situation. They simply understand the situation well.”

Commenting on his playing future, he revealed, “I feel good, I’m fit and busy every day. Not a day goes by that I’m not busy. Of course, you ideally want to stay fit for your entire career, but that’s part of it.”

He admitted that he has been unlucky with injuries, as under normal circumstances a player at his level and with his trophy cabinet would have no problem finding a team. He explained this is why he recently narrowly missed out on joining a new club.

Nonetheless, he added, “with God’s will, I’ll return to the pitch.”

Last year, Fosu-Mensah was given the chance to train with the Ajax youth side and he explained, “I trained there from January until the summer. That felt really good. When I went back to De Toekomst, it was a really special feeling. It brought back so many memories.”