Ten Hag Doesn’t Know If Manchester United Star Will Play Again This Season

Erik ten Hag gave a worrying update on the situation of Manchester United star Phil Jones.

United are still in three cup competitions as well as in the race for a top-four spot in the Premier League. The Red Devils are more or less guaranteed to progress to the final of the League Cup after their 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the first leg.

The second-leg tie against Forest at home will give Ten Hag a very good opportunity to give more minutes to fringe players at the club. The relatively easy FA Cup fixture against Championship side Reading on Saturday could likewise see out-squad players attaining valuable game time even as tired starters are provided with some rest.

In such a scenario, Phil Jones could have easily seen some return to the United backline. But this is not the case as per the United gaffer, who admitted the player has not completed one training session during his time at the club.

The Sir Alex Ferguson signing is in his final year of contract, but no decision has been made so far regarding the situation. Further, Ten Hag isn’t certain if Jones will play again this season.

He said: “I can’t say. What I can say is that he’s not available for training since the first day of training this season so I think there’s not an opportunity for you to recover quickly and be available quickly.”

Since his contract extension in February 2019, Jones has made just 21 appearances under three different managers. This is certainly a worrying trend for a player who has been at the club for a considerable period of time. It is fair to say, however, that for some fans, the end is long overdue.