Manchester United

The Dutchman was riding in a Range Rover owned by his United teammate Marcus Rashford, who was in a separate car trailing behind when the incident took place.

The left-back missed the entire previous season due to a knee injury and is expected to remain sidelined for the start of the new campaign with the same issue.

It is understood that the incident occurred on July 16 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, before the Red Devils headed off to the US for their pre-season tour.

Malacia taken to hospital after collision with suspected drunken driver

According to The Sun, Rashford's vehicle was struck by a black Mercedes, and the driver of that car, a 55-year-old woman, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

The report adds that both Malacia and his unnamed friend were taken to the hospital as a precaution, but they were cleared to leave by doctors after being found to have avoided serious injury.

Both players were pictured in Man United training the following day.

While Rashford was not involved in the accident, he was handed a six-month driving ban just two days later for speeding on the M60 in his Rolls-Royce in a separate incident that occurred in December 2023.

Rashford travelled to Los Angeles with the rest of Manchester United's squad on Wednesday for their pre-season tour of the United States, while Malacia remained in the UK.

The 24-year-old, who has developed a close friendship with Rashford and frequently vacations with him, was omitted from the travelling squad as he continues to recover from his injury.

Ten Hag confident Rashford will have a better season in 2024-25

Rashford had a fairly underwhelming 2023-24 season, with his goal tally failing to reach double digits, which contributed to the attacker being left out of Gareth Southgate's squad for the Euros.

However, United boss Erik ten Hag remains confident that Rashford will rediscover his goalscoring form after a challenging second season under his management.

The Dutchman expressed his faith in the striker in an interview last week, stating: "The reason Ruud (van Nistelrooy) is here is clear, he can help the strikers, but he is more than this. With Rashford he can only prove himself.

"He scores so many goals already at a relatively young age, he is capable of it. So I am confident, 100% belief, he can do the same as few years ago."

United will take on Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool over the next week before returning to Manchester for final preparations ahead of their FA Community Shield encounter against Manchester City on August 10.