Former Man United defender and current Burnley player, Axel Tuanzebe has filed a £1 million lawsuit against his former club, accusing it of medical negligence that allegedly worsened his spinal injuries and limited his playing career.
According to Sky News, Tuanzebe’s legal team submitted court papers claiming the club failed to provide adequate medical care and ignored signs of serious back injuries during his time at Old Trafford.
The 27-year-old alleges that United’s medical team mismanaged his treatment, allowing him to play through pain that later developed into chronic spinal damage.
The case revolves around a left-sided pars fracture—a stress fracture of the lower spine—that Tuanzebe first sustained in January 2020.
Despite reporting “significant pain and discomfort,” he was allegedly not given sufficient rest or referred to a specialist sports spinal surgeon. By July 2022, he suffered a similar injury on the opposite side of his spine.
His lawyers argue that Manchester United’s negligence caused his condition to deteriorate into bilateral grade 4 fractures.
The court documents assert that, with proper medical management, Tuanzebe “would have avoided the pain and discomfort” and continued playing at the elite level “without restriction or impediment.”
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Although he remains active as a professional with Burnley, his legal team claims the injury has permanently affected his career trajectory and future earnings.
Tuanzebe, a product of Manchester United’s academy, joined the club at age eight and made his senior debut in 2017 under José Mourinho.
He went on to feature intermittently for the first team, including Champions League appearances against Paris Saint-Germain, but his progress was repeatedly hampered by injuries.
One of his most notable absences came after a Carabao Cup match against Colchester United in December 2019, where a back injury sidelined him for months.
After multiple loan spells, including stints at Aston Villa, Napoli, and Stoke City, Tuanzebe left Manchester United in 2023, ending a 17-year association with the club.
His lawyers argue that United’s failure to provide specialist care directly led to long-term complications, while the club has declined to comment on the ongoing case.
Punch
