Former Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, now playing for Premier League side Burnley, has filed a £1 million lawsuit against Manchester United, accusing the club of “clinical negligence” in his medical treatment during his time at Old Trafford.
According to court documents reported by Sky News, Tuanzebe claims that injuries sustained while at Manchester United have left him unable to play “without restriction or impediment,” significantly affecting his professional career and earnings. The defender’s legal team expects damages to exceed £1 million if the case is successful.
The lawsuit centers on a left-sided pars fracture; a stress fracture of the lower spine first sustained in January 2020, which reportedly caused Tuanzebe “significant pain and discomfort.” A similar right-sided injury in July 2022 is also cited.
Tuanzebe alleges that Manchester United failed to provide adequate rest and did not refer him to a specialist sports spinal surgeon. Court papers state, “Appropriate treatment plans would, on the balance of probabilities, have resulted in the claimant avoiding the pain and discomfort… and being able to play professional football at an elite level without restriction or impediment.”
The documents continue, “It is the claimant’s case that the defendant (United) negligently failed to properly investigate the claimant’s pars fractures, failed to rest the claimant, and failed to refer him to a specialist sports spinal surgeon. As a result, the claimant’s symptoms significantly progressed to bilateral grade 4 fractures, and he developed a left-sided chronic spinal fracture.”
Tuanzebe, an academy graduate, spent 17 years at Manchester United before leaving in 2023. He made his senior debut in January 2017, but his time at Old Trafford was plagued by injuries, including a season-ending injury against Colchester United in the Carabao Cup in December 2019.
Manchester United has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
