Jadon Sancho has been out of footballing action after an average run under current manager Erik Ten hag. But England forward is "taking steps" towards returning to Manchester United and could play against Reading in the FA Cup on Saturday, manager Erik ten Hag revealed.
Jadon Sancho hasn't featured for United in 14 weeks as the united forward struggled to reach peak form since moving from Borussia Dortmund. Ten Hag gave the reason for his absence as "circumstances with fitness and mood".
The 22-year-old returned to training before the game against Arsenal. The loss against the gunners ended an undefeated run of six league games for manager Erik Ten Hag.
In Sancho's absence, Ten Hag showed faith in 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford at left-wing, who has scored 10 goals in as many games since the World Cup. With United in the fray for 4 competition glory, Sancho's return would provide more depth as the red devils look to end a six-year trophy drought.
Ten Hag is hoping Sancho will be back on the field soon and did not rule out him making an appearance against Reading at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round. "He [Sancho] is training with the team, and we will see," Ten Hag told reporters. "He's improving, he's making steps, and we will make the decision after training [whether he will play against Reading].
Ten Hag even stated that he is on course to making the comeback and the management is keeping a close eye on his fitness - "He's on the way back, he's making steps, he's back in team training, and we have to see when he's ready to go back into games."
United have played a total of 7 games this year and the squad depth would be tested in such a busy period. However, Ten Hag has cleared the air on resting the majority of players and confirmed that a strong team will take the field against Reading. "I think tomorrow we will have a strong selection for this game, we have a good squad, and we can cover things."
The Dutch manager is not taking the clash against Reading lightly and is putting out a more than capable line-up against the Royals. He said - "Football is never decided on paper, we have to be ready for every game. Every opponent will be tough. Especially in the cup for them, it's a perfect chance. We have to be aware of that, be on the front foot, focused, and [with] energy. We want to win every game."
United's real problem lies at full-back. Luke Shaw and Diago Dalot both didn't feature in the EFL game against Nottingham Forest. Although the United manager was impressed by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tyrell Malacia for how they deputised against Forest. "Dalot is out and Shaw is a question mark, we have to see after training." He added - "I think Aaron and Tyrell play magnificent at this moment, on Wednesday they were brilliant, the whole back four was brilliant."
With United featuring in 4 competitions, their bench will constantly be tested. Will United look the same in absence of Dalot and Shaw? or will Bissakka and Tyrell Malacia continue to step up similarly?
With OPTA inputs
