Phil Jones was tipped for greatness by Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson after the centre-back was snapped up from Blackburn Rovers back in the summer of 2011.
The highly-rated defender had already won plenty of plaudits after breaking into the first-team fold at Ewood Park as a teenager. But two years after his blockbuster move to Old Trafford had materialised, Ferguson went one further by suggesting that Jones could even go on to become United's "best ever player".
Unfortunately, Ferguson's prediction has not aged well: now aged 31, Jones has started just two games in the last three years due to a long-term knee injury and has not featured at all under Erik ten Hag this season.
Jones was even amongst a handful of players who were reportedly axed from United's first-team dressing room earlier this season to make space for an influx of summer signings.
Despite the fact Jones has also been omitted from the club's Premier League and their Europa League squads this term, a move away in the January transfer window failed to materialise. That means Jones is set to remain on United's books - at least until the end of the season, when his current contract expires.
Injuries have plagued Jones throughout his Old Trafford career; he has been restricted to just 16 starting appearances since he penned a four-and-a-half year deal back in February 2019.
His last appearance for the club occurred back in January 2022, when he was a surprise starter in a 1-0 defeat against Wolves at Old Trafford. But once again, injuries have prevented a player who was held in such high esteem by one of Manchester United's greatest ever managers from kicking on.
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Injury issues also appear to have prevented him from making an impression on a new regime, too; speaking a fortnight ago, Ten Hag confirmed that Jones has been injured all season - which could also be why a January move failed to materialise.
However, the former Ajax chief also downplayed the likelihood of the beleaguered defender returning to make an impact before the end of the season, indicating that Jones' career at Old Trafford is all but over.
"For the whole season he's injured," Ten Hag said of Jones. "I can't say [if Jones will play again this season]. What I can say is that he's not available for training since the first day of training this season so I think there's not an opportunity for you to recover quickly and be available quickly."
It feels inevitable that Jones and Manchester United will now part ways sooner rather than later. And after struggling with so many injuries over the past few years, hopefully a fresh start at a new club will give Jones the opportunity to spend the twilight years of his career playing football again.
