Valencia boost for United as he joins the trip to Dubai
ANTONIO Valencia is in United’s squad which has travelled to Dubai for a training camp.
The defender has not played since he suffered a hamstring injury at West Brom on December 17, but boss Jose Mourinho indicated last week he would be available to play against Stoke on Monday.
United are returning to Dubai for the first time in four years for five days of warm weather training as they prepare for the clash against the Premier League strugglers.
The game would have been moved back to Saturday had Stoke needed to play in an FA Cup third round replay next mid-week, however, their defeat by League Two Coventry means Stoke will now face United on Monday – allowing United to fly out to the UAE.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side travelled to Dubai midway through the 2003-04 season and enjoyed a similar break to Qatar in 2009 and 2013. United also flew to Dubai in February 2014 under David Moyes.
“We need to recover but at the same time we also need to train because during this crazy time we have not had many times to work on details that you want to work on,” Mourinho said.
“It’s been more about the recovery from the match and the travelling and the preparations for the next one without time to work.
“If we can have time to have a good, nice week to recover some injured players and tired players and, at the same time, work on some tactical details I think it would be good for the second part of the season.”
After United’s Friday night FA Cup win over Derby, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford travelled to Paris, Daley Blind returned to Amsterdam while Ander Herrera and Chris Smalling opted for weekend getaways in London and the Lake District.