Axel Tuanzebe, a former Manchester United defender now playing for Burnley, has filed a £1 million lawsuit against his former club, accusing them of “clinical negligence” in their medical care. According to court documents reported by Sky News on Tuesday, the defender claims that injuries sustained during his time at Old Trafford mean he can no longer play “without restriction or impediment.”
The case centers on a left-sided pars fracture—a stress fracture of the lower spine—first suffered in January 2020, which Tuanzebe claims caused him “significant pain and discomfort.” The defender reportedly “expects to recover damages in excess of £1,000,000” if the case is successful.
Tuanzebe’s claim also cites a similar stress fracture on the right side of his spine in July 2022. He and his legal team allege that Manchester United demonstrated negligence by failing to enforce adequate rest and failing to refer him to a specialist sports spinal surgeon.
The lawsuit contends that a correct treatment plan would, “on the balance of probabilities,” have allowed him to avoid the pain and discomfort and “be able to play professional football at an elite level without restriction or impediment.”
The court papers conclude that while Tuanzebe “continues to play at an elite level, this has impacted his career and earnings.” The core of his negligence case is that Manchester United “failed to properly investigate” the pars fractures, “failed to rest” him, and “failed to refer him to a specialist sports spinal surgeon.”
The plaintiff argues that as a result, his symptoms progressed significantly to bilateral grade 4 fractures and a left-sided chronic spinal fracture. Tuanzebe’s legal team contends that appropriate rest would have prevented the left-sided fracture from becoming chronic and avoided the right-sided fracture entirely. Tuanzebe, an academy graduate, departed United in 2023 after 17 years, during which his senior career—which began in January 2017—was repeatedly hampered by injuries. Manchester United has declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit.
