Jadon Sancho ‘is STILL absent from Manchester United training’ despite their imminent return to action in the Carabao Cup – a week after Erik ten Hag admitted the winger wasn’t ‘physically or mentally ready to play’
Jadon Sancho ‘is still missing from Manchester United training’ after Erik ten Hag said he ‘wasn’t mentally ready’ to return to action.
United play Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night but winger Sancho won’t be available for selection amid concerns over his mental state of mind.
Sancho turned off his social media accounts last month in an effort to be ready for the second half of the season but that move only raised further concerns about his wellbeing.
Jadon Sancho ‘is still missing from Manchester United training’ as Erik ten Hag’s side prepare to return to action in the Carabao Cup fourth round against Burnley
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag (right) has admitted he does not know when £73million Jadon Sancho (second right) will return to action for the club
Sancho, 22, has been undergoing an individual training programme in the Netherlands on the recommendation of Ten Hag in recent weeks having failed to make England’s World Cup squad.
The aim was to restore Sancho to peak fitness, especially mentally, and try to rediscover the form he showed during a bright opening to the season.
Sancho did not travel to Spain with other United players not at the World Cup for a warm weather training camp and friendlies against Cadiz and Real Betis.
And, according to the Manchester Evening News, Sancho is still not in a position to return to full training at United’s Carrington headquarters. He hasn’t been pictured in squad training since October 31.
A brief video emerged last month of Sancho dribbling around training mannequins by himself
Ten Hag has spoken to £73million man Sancho about his situation on several occasions but hasn’t put a timeframe on his return to training.
‘We want to bring him back as quickly as possible, but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be,’ Ten Hag said earlier this month.
‘Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. We got a drop of quality level and sometimes you don’t know why or what is causing it.
‘That is what we are doing now to try to get him back there. It is a combination of physically and mentally.’
Sancho has not played since October 22 due to illness and it has raised concerns over the gifted Londoner, even more so after he shut down his social media accounts last month
Sancho has been training with a coach trusted by Ten Hag at Dutch amateur club OJC Rosmalen, with a brief video emerging showing him dribbling around training mannequins.
United would ideally have Sancho fit and available ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule.
He last played for them in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea on October 22 and was then sidelined with illness.
After the Burnley tie on Wednesday night, United host Nottingham Forest on their return to Premier League action on December 27 before travelling to Wolves on New Year’s Eve.
Ten Hag’s side follow that up with a home game against Bournemouth on January 3 and a FA Cup third round tie at home to Everton on January 6.
It comes as the nine players in the squad eliminated at the quarter-final stage return to the club in time for the clash with Championship leaders Burnley.
Harry Maguire, part of the England team knocked out by France at the last eight stage in Qatar, could feature on Wednesday because first-choice central defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez made it all the way to the final with France and Argentina respectively.
Others who should be available are Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Fred and Antony, though Diogo Dalot is being assessed for a hamstring injury.
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