Manchester United received good news as Bryan Mbeumo is set to travel back to England immediately after Cameroon was eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, with his official return-to-play date confirmed.
On 10 January 2026, Manchester United is preparing to regain a key player after Bryan Mbeumo, the club's important forward, ended his Africa Cup of Nations 2025 campaign with Cameroon following their defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals last Friday night.
Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui are three "Red Devils" players who traveled to represent their national teams starting mid-December. All three performed impressively in the group stage and helped their teams advance to the knockout rounds, especially Amad, who earned Man of the Match honors twice during the group phase.
However, Cameroon's hopes of winning the championship ended after a 0-2 loss to Morocco, the team Mazraoui plays for, who secured the victory.
Although Mbeumo was disappointed by the defeat and missing out on the World Cup later this year, for Manchester United fans, this is good news as the 25-year-old striker is ready to return to England immediately.
Man Utd has clearly missed Mbeumo's contributions over recent weeks. He remains the team's top scorer this season with seven goals, and his absence, along with Amad's, has left the club lacking a sharp left-footed right winger.
This was especially notable during the period when the club decided to dismiss Ruben Amorim as head coach while the three players were away at AFCON.
However, Darren Fletcher confirmed that Mbeumo will not be ready for the Premier League match against Brighton this Sunday but will be fit to be named in the squad for the important Manchester Derby against their city rivals on Saturday, 17 January.
"It's too soon," Fletcher said.
"We'll use the same lineup from the Burnley game, so there will be no new faces for this match. Bryan is not ready to play yet."