The centre-back played the full 90 minutes of the Reds’ late 2-1 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday but will join his country’s Africa Cup of Nations preparations on Monday.
The news was confirmed by Jose Mourinho in his post-match press conference and, if Ivory Coast go all the way to the final in their defence of the tournament in Gabon, Bailly won’t be available for the Reds until mid-February.
However, the manager is happy with the other central defensive options he has at his disposal – Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones – and revealed both Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick have an outside chance of facing the Hammers, while also reserving praise for Marouane Fellaini’s performance against Boro.
“Bailly is leaving – he goes to the national team,” Mourinho said. “He has to be with them on 2 January. We asked them for him to be on 3 January but they refused, so he cannot play against West Ham.
“I know that I lose Bailly for a month and I'm going to have Smalling, Rojo and Jones for, I think, eight matches. So I decided to play Eric [against Middlesbrough] and it was good to have him on the pitch because, one-on-one at the back, he's the best because he's very fast.
“Rooney has a little chance and Michael has a bigger chance than Rooney. Let's see how he is tomorrow.
"I'm really happy with Fellaini and the way he played," continued the manager. "I'm really happy with his connection with the fans. I think they realised how useful he is and how much he is with the team.”
Both United and West Ham have only a 48-hour turnaround for the game at the London Stadium, with Slaven Bilic’s side having lost 1-0 at Leicester City on Saturday.
“It's difficult for us and difficult for West Ham,” Mourinho admitted. “We've both played at the same time, we've both had difficult matches and couldn't rest players.
“The intensity of the game was very high for them, for sure, against Leicester, and for us the same. And now we have 48 hours to play, so it's difficult for all of us.”
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