Jadon Sancho returned to first-team training this week after being given an extended period of time away from the squad.
The Manchester United winger needed some time away and trained in the Netherlands during the World Cup following a recommendation from manager Erik ten Hag.
Sancho’s last competitive appearance came against Chelsea in the Premier League in October.
Breaking back into the first-team could be a struggle for Sancho because Marcus Rashford is in the form of his life on the left, while Antony’s place could be tested if the England international returns and hits the ground running. It helps that he has a manager that has shown a lot of patience with him in recent months.
Ten Hag gave a cautious response today when asked about Sancho’s available ahead of Sunday’s game against Arsenal.
“I can’t answer that question,” Ten Hag told reporters at his press conference, as quoted by Press Association journalist Simon Peach. “He’s making the next step because (Tuesday) he was for the first time in team training… we will extend that in the coming days, the coming week and then go step by step.”
Erik ten Hag was asked when Jadon Sancho could next play for #MUFC: "I can’t answer that question. He's making the next step because (Tuesday) he was for the first time in team training… we will extend that in the coming days, the coming week and then go step by step"
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) January 20, 2023
I think we can safely rule Sancho out of the Arsenal game.
Ten Hag was always likely to ease him back into action and we’ve got two Carabao Cup semi-final ties coming up against Nottingham Forest!
