Jadon Sancho won’t likely play for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
To rebuild his mental and physical health, the English winger has been working out away from the team in the Netherlands with elite coaches. Shortly after his exclusion from England’s 2022 FIFA World Cup roster, the former Borussia Dortmund winger decided to get his training regimen started.
On October 22, he made his final club appearance in a 1-1 Premier League match with Chelsea. Ten Hag reportedly doesn’t think the English winger will play against Forest on December 27, according to Fabrizio Romano.
When will Jadon Sancho be back? Erik ten Hag: “It’s unlikely that Jadon will be back for the game against Nottingham Forest on Dec 27”. 🚨 #MUFC
Ten Hag clarifies that Jadon Sancho will now continue his rehabilitation, reports via @ChrisWheelerDM. pic.twitter.com/EkVOmaADEc
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 23, 2022
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez’s participation in the game is also up in the air given that they have not yet returned from the World Cup campaign. On December 18, they both took the field in the final World Cup game, which Martinez’s Argentina won on penalties over Varane’s France.
Sancho has failed to recreate the performance he had in the Bundesliga. His form once persuaded United to pay £73 million for his services last year.
In his previous two seasons with Dortmund, the Englishman scored 36 goals and contributed 40 assists in 82 games across all competitions. The situation at United has been very different. In 52 games across all competitions for the Red Devils, he has eight goals and a pitiful four assists. In addition to his tangible contributions, Sancho has frequently appeared off-balance on the field, struggling to evade defenders or make the right choices in the final third.
He missed Thursday’s 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Burnley. In his absence, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford started down the flanks against the Clarets.
