Former Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe has pointed the finger of blame at the Old Trafford club over the handling of a spinal injury that has left him unable to play "without restriction or impediment" at the age of 27. Once the jewel of the academy, the current Burnley player is now seeking more than £1 million ($1.3m) from the Red Devils to compensate lost career earnings.

Man Utd accused of clinical negligence

has shared details of the landmark case filed at London's High Court, which accuses Manchester United of clinical negligence regarding stress fractures at the back of Tuanzebe's spine. The player has been left in what he considers to be avoidable pain, ultimately impacting his career prospects.

"Appropriate treatment plans would, on the balance of probabilities, have resulted in the claimant avoiding the pain and discomfort set out below and would have resulted in him being able to play professional football at elite level without restriction or impediment," the lawsuit claims.

"As it is, although he continues to play at an elite level, this has impacted his career and earnings."

Tuanzebe, who joined Burnley on a free transfer in July after his Ipswich Town contract had expired, has only made 142 career appearances at the age of 27. He was still able to command a contract with a Premier League club, but has never been a regular starter since first suffering the injury in question.

AdvertisementAFPTuanzebe not referred to specialist

Tuanzebe suffered a left-sided pars fracture in January 2020, becoming chronic by July of 2022, when a right-sided pas fracture also developed. The issue appears to be the interpretation of an MRI scan at the start of 2020 after the centre-back had sustained a hamstring problem at the end of 2019.

Although the first pars fracture was detected then, Tuanzebe and his advisers argue that there was no referral to a specialist surgeon to prescribe 12 weeks of rest to allow the fracture to heal. Instead, he was back playing at Premier League 2 level in just a couple of months.

"It is the claimant's case that the defendant [Manchester 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," the lawsuit explains.

"As a result, the claimant's symptoms significantly progressed to bilateral grade 4 fractures, and he developed a left-sided chronic spinal fracture. Had the claimant been appropriately rested, his left-sided pars fracture would not have developed into a chronic condition and the right-sided fracture would have been avoided altogether."

The case documents add: "By allowing the claimant to train and play as normal from February to March 2020 and thereafter, he suffered more serious symptoms than he would have if he had been diagnosed promptly and treated appropriately with rest."

It is alleged that by 2022, United's then club doctor, Dr Steve McNally showed "no urgency" for Tuanzebe to return from a loan at Napoli to be examined, despite being aware of his pain, writing off the issue as something less serious.

Defender's unfulfilled potential

Born in DR Congo but raised in Greater Manchester from a young age, Tuanzebe joined United's academy from the age of eight and was considered a generatonal talent by the time he reached his teenage years. The defender was named Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year in 2015 and was noted as the first first-year scholar to captain the Under-18s since Old Trafford legend Gary Neville. From there, Tuanzebe made his senior debut in January 2017 and within a few months won the next award up the ladder: Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year.

Successive loans offered promise but were limited due to injuries and a struggle to play more than 35 games in 18 months. But Tuanzebe was offered a new United contract in the summer of 2019 and soon captained the team at the age of just 21 in a Carabao Cup tie. But then came the first stress fracture in his spine and the start of the persistent injury problems that have ultimately defined his career.

Tuanzebe was released by Manchester United in 2023 after another Aston Villa loan and other temporary spells at Napoli and Stoke City. At Ipswich, he played 45 times in two seasons.

Getty Images SportWhat comes next?

Tuanzebe missed the first six Premier League games of the 2025-26 season while recovering from injury an building his fitness, but has since started each of Burnley's last five in the competition. If he can get a clean run of fitness over the remainder of the campaign, he could yet prove himself a dependable top flight-calibre defender. He will learn in due course whether United will financially compensate him.