Mourinho Hints at Opportunity for Luke Shaw & Delivers Several Injury Updates Ahead of Swansea Clash
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has dropped a subtle hint that he may be willing to reconcile with the outcast Luke Shaw this weekend, by claiming that the left back is in contention to start against Swansea.
Shaw felt Mourinho's wrath before the international break, and was pulled off at half time during the club's FA Cup win over Brighton before receiving a scathing attack from the manager in his post match comments.
But, now with the Premier League returning, Mourinho has had plenty of time to cool down, and may well opt for the Englishman over compatriot Ashley Young against the Swans.
"If he’s available Luke Shaw is always an option, Ashley Young was available to play against Brighton so I started with Shaw, so that’s not a problem," the United boss said, via Manchester Evening News.
The international break is often a frustrating time for clubs, with players often returning to their clubs carrying injuries. However, the list of casualties at Old Trafford has actually declined over the period, with many taking the time off to recover from complaints prior to the break.
He added: "Romero is injured, and I think he will for a few weeks, I think in the end he was lucky because there was a strong contusion and will take a little bit of time to recover."
"Ashley Young had a problem in the last part of the game against Italy but we think there is a chance for him to recover and Daley Blind come back from his treatment in Holland, start training with us in the last few days and is the only one not available.
"Apart from Daley, after a couple of months out, we recovered all the other problems we had, including Phil Jones, [Marcos] Rojo played with Argentina so the picture improved a lot for us in that aspect."
Finally, the Portuguese gave a touching tribute to the recently departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has left the club for the sunny shores of LA Galaxy.
“For me it's always sad when the big players go in the direction of the end,” said the United boss, as per the Mirror.
“This period with Galaxy, these couple of years, will be very good for him and American football in terms of what he can do, teach, attract, his personality and his passion for football.”