Manchester United news: Henrikh Mkhitaryan trains alone as rest of the squad given day off by Jose Mourinho
Those who played against Burnley on Saturday were given some time off, but Mkhitaryan was spotted leaving United's Carrington training base after a lonesome workout session
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Your support makes all the difference.The Manchester United squad were given the day off on Sunday to recover from their dominant-yet-unrewarding display in the 0-0 draw with Burnley at the weekend - except out-of-favour winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Armenia international has not played since the 2-1 derby defeat by Manchester City in September that saw him battle through a 45 minute appearance with a thigh injury that would eventually rule him out for a month.
Yet upon his return to fitness, Mkhitaryan has been left out of every matchday squad selected by manager Jose Mourinho, and the Portuguese explained on Friday in his press conference that the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has not yet adapted to the physical rigours of the Premier League.
With the United squad afforded a day off training after playing Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday, Mkhitaryan was spotted leaving the Carrington training base in his white Lamborghini Aventador after training on his own.
The £26.3m summer addition has made just one start since moving to Manchester which came in the disappointing derby defeat where Mourinho elected to replace him at half-time, and the 27-year-old has not even made the substitutes’ bench for United’s recent Europa League and EFL Cup matches against Zorya Ludansk, Fenerbahce and City.
On Friday, Mourinho was keen to stress that Mkhitaryan will not be sold when the transfer window reopens in January, but expressed his concern that he has not yet developed his game to adapt to English football. One positive for Mkhitaryan to take out of Mourinho’s comments is that he used the examples of Willian at Chelsea and Angel Di Maria’s progression at Real Madrid to show why Mkhitaryan can still prove a worthwhile asset for United.
Mkhitaryan took to social media on Sunday to express his disappointment with United’s result against Burnley, in which they had 37 shots at goal without success and also had Ander Herrera and Jose Mourinho sent-off for falling foul of referee Mark Clattenburg.
Mourinho now faces a stadium ban if the Football Association decide to throw the book at him, having suffered a similar sanction two years ago while managing Chelsea, after the Portuguese confronted Clattenburg in the tunnel at half-time over the decision not to award United a penalty in the first half.
With United facing a busy month ahead in the Premier League, Europa League and EFL Cup, Mourinho could finally choose to utilise Mkhitaryan as he rotates his squad, with six fixtures coming up in November beginning with the Europa League trip to Fenerbahce on Thursday as well as a Premier League visit of Arsenal and back-to-back matches with West Ham.
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