Melvine Malard will not get her reunion with Manchester United on Sunday. Chelsea Women boss Sonia Bompastor confirmed on Friday that the French forward is still recovering from a knock picked up in training last week, an injury that already ruled her out of the opening weekend's 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
"Unfortunately she won't be able to return to Man United and play the game," Bompastor said. "She's close to returning, but probably next weekend."
Malard moved to Chelsea from United in the summer of 2023, initially on loan before making the switch permanent. She scored in last season's Women's Super League run-in as Chelsea claimed a fifth consecutive title under Emma Hayes, and the trip to Leigh Sports Village was expected to be one of the fixtures she had circled. Instead, she will watch from the stands as her current side travel to face her former one without her.
The injury list does not stop there. Mayra Ramirez and Manaka Matsukubo will also remain unavailable for the trip, leaving Bompastor short of attacking options for a fixture that already carried weight. Ramirez, the Colombian striker who arrived in January for a club-record fee, has been managing a separate issue, while Matsukubo's absence continues. Bompastor confirmed all three will sit out Sunday's match.
"All of them won't be available to play this game," she added.
There is one piece of better news. Nathalie Bjorn, the Sweden defender, has returned to full training after her own spell on the sidelines. The 27-year-old will travel with the squad to Manchester, though Bompastor stopped short of guaranteeing her involvement.
"Nat Bjorn is starting to train fully with the team so she will be travelling with us. We will see if she has minutes or not," the manager said.
The timing is awkward for Chelsea. The draw with Villa was not the start Bompastor wanted in her first WSL campaign since replacing Hayes, and Sunday's game against United represents an early test of the squad's depth. United finished fifth last season, a level below Chelsea's standard, but they have strengthened over the summer and will see this as a chance to land an early statement result against the division's dominant side.
Chelsea, for their part, have won the WSL in each of the last five seasons. The squad has been reshaped since Hayes departed for the United States national team, with Bompastor arriving from Lyon, where she won the Champions League as both a player and a manager. The transition has not been seamless. The Villa result, a draw that felt like a missed opportunity, exposed some of the gaps left by the summer turnover.
Malard's absence compounds that. She is not the most prolific forward in the squad, but her movement and pressing have become useful tools in Bompastor's system. Without her, and without Ramirez, the attacking burden falls heavier on the players who are fit. The manager has not named a replacement plan publicly, but the options available are thinner than she would like for a game of this importance.
The fixture also carries personal stakes for several players. Malard is not the only one with a United past in the Chelsea squad. The two clubs have traded players regularly in recent years, and the rivalry has grown sharper as Chelsea's dominance has pushed United to chase rather than challenge. Sunday's game is early in the season, but the result will shape the early table and the mood around both camps.
Bompastor's comments came during her pre-match press conference, where she also addressed the broader fitness picture. She did not give a timeline for Ramirez or Matsukubo beyond confirming their absence. The focus, she made clear, is on the players who are available and the task in front of them.
Chelsea will train on Saturday before travelling north. Bjorn's return to the squad, even if she does not play, gives the defence more cover and offers a small boost after a week of negative injury news. Whether she features against United remains to be seen, with Bompastor leaving the decision open.
Sunday's match kicks off at Leigh Sports Village. Malard will not be part of it, and Chelsea will have to find a way through without her.
According to Yahoo Sports.