Erik ten Hag reveals Phil Jones injury the reason for absence from Manchester United squad
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that injuries are the reason why Phil Jones has been left out of the Red Devils’ squad.
While the defender is still on the Old Trafford side’s books, he has not featured for the club in the current campaign. Neither does the 30-year-old’s name nor squad number appear on the match-day programme.
Speaking to the media via The Sun about Jones’ absence, Ten Hag revealed that fitness issues had forced him to not count on the England international. The gaffer does not feel there is a chance for the defender to feature for United, having not trained with the team.
“For the whole season he’s injured. I can’t say [if Jones will play again this season]. 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.”
The 30-year-old signed for the Red Devils in the summer of 2011 from Blackburn Rovers. There were high expectations from the centre-back, who regularly put his life on the line to keep the ball out of the net.
However, injuries have not helped the Jones’ cause at the Old Trafford side. Since the 2019/20 campaign, the England international has made just six appearances in all competitions for the Manchester-based club.
The defender’s current contract with United expires at the end of the season. In the previous transfer window, the 30-year-old was one of the players the Red Devils were open to parting ways with.
At the moment, the Old Trafford side have considerable depth in the backline. Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been the Dutch manager’s preferred partnership in defence.
Having two World Cup-winning centre-backs in the squad has meant that the likes of Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire have found game time hard to come by.
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Therefore, it does not seem like United require Jones’ services. It would be best for the 30-year-old to leave the club in the summer and find pastures new.
