GAB TOLD: BE COOL
PHIL Jones has returned to United for treatment after suffering an injury playing for England against Germany.
Initially, England manager Gareth Southgate alleviated fears of a long-term issue by insisting that Jones was ‘fine’ despite limping off midway through the first half at Wembley on Friday night, and he suggested the defender could remain with the national side ahead of the friendly against Brazil tomorrow.
However, Jones has become the eighth player to withdraw from the squad and he is now back at Carrington for further treatment on the thigh problem that required strapping ahead of kick off against the Germans.
It is sure to frustrate Jose Mourinho that Jones played through what appeared to be an existing problem and has now aggravated the injury.
The United manager is hoping CITY star Gabriel Jesus is getting extra coaching to keep him on the pitch for longer.
The 20-year-old exploded onto the Premier League stage in January and has even drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi for the talent he has already shown at such a young age.
A number of sides have targeted Jesus for rough treatment to try and stop him; Bournemouth arguably got away with two red card offences back in August and Japan repeatedly fouled him during Brazil’s win over them on Friday.
That game saw team-mate Neymar escape a red card when his frustration got the better of him, but coach Tite has advice for all of his forwards on how to shrug off their anger.
“I will talk about the last red card he got [for PSG],” he said. to have Paul Pogba, Marcos Rojo and Michael Carrick available after the international break, while Marouane Fellaini has been building his own fitness after making his comeback from the bench against Chelsea.
Mourinho will hope Jones can recover in time for United’s Premier League clash with Newcastle on Saturday evening.
Jones has had an excellent start to the season and has formed a solid partnership with Eric Bailly at the heart of United’s defence. The centreback has missed around 120 games through injury since arriving at Old Trafford from Blackburn in 2011.
But he insists it is not fair to label him as injury prone.
He said: “It’s a fine line. People think you’re injured. I’m not injured, I’m just carrying a little niggle. But people think, ‘Oh he’s injured, he’s got an ankle problem’. It doesn’t mean you’re injured, you’re managing it for the next game.”
“He took a tackle and another one seconds later. Everyone is trying to stop him with fouls but he cannot react to this.
“I have talked with him about this. I tell him: ‘Just go to the halfway line’.
“The referee was right when he gave Neymar the yellow card against Japan.
“But the use of video technology will be a good thing because it will make for a fairer game.
“When we talk about players like Neymar, Willian, Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus, they are really fast and this is how defenders stop them.
“Against Japan, there was a sequence of fouls on Gabriel but I told him: ‘Go to halfway. Just play’. This is the thing.”
City special: Pages 46-48