After two clubs come to an agreement on a fee and the player sorts personal terms with the interested party, a medical check is the only thing standing in the way of a transfer.
While there is no legal requirement for a player to complete a medical upon signing for a new club, the majority of teams carry out the checks to ensure that there are no underlying concerns.
Carlos Baleba's proposed switch to Manchester United has raised questions as to how injured players can pass their medical, and we tell you everything you need to know about the procedure.
How can an injured player pass their medical?
Because a medical is not strictly a pass-or-fail assessment, players can sign for a new team even if they are not fit to play at the time of the examination.
If a player is carrying a known injury at the time of undergoing the medical, it's simply down to the club to evaluate whether or not they wish to go through with the transfer, with the estimate recovery time amongst the factors considered.
Take Baleba's switch from Brighton to Manchester United as the perfect example. While the Cameroonian is set to be sidelined until mid-September with an ankle ligament injury, the club don't see it as a long-term problem and the 22-year-old is set to join the 20-time Premier League champions in a deal worth £70m.
It's often when an underlying medical issue is uncovered when clubs pull out of transfers, with the financial risk occasionally deemed too high to permit the signing.
For instance, AC Milan opted to withdraw their bid to sign Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in January 2026 after discovering a preexisting knee and meniscus issue, which both the Frenchman and the Eagles were unaware of.
