He had not even been substituted at that point. Thirteen weeks and 15 games later, De Ligt remains side-lined. His back injury has still not cleared up and there is no timescale on a return. "Matthijs has had a back issue which has been a bit slow to progress," he said. "The nature of the injury means it's a difficult one to pin down time wise.

Source: BBC February 27, 2026 22:11 UTC