Sports
Mourinho Blames Selection Headache For Mkhitaryan Absence
Jose Mourinho has blamed the recent absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan on having too many players to select from.
The Armenian has not been involved in the matchday squad in seven of the last eight games and last featured as a substitute in United’s 1-0 win over Brighton on 25 November.
Mourinho was asked about Mkhitaryan’s absence in his post-match press conference following the Reds’ 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
The boss outlined that his plethora of options in midfield and attacking positions means that there is competition for every place in the starting line-up and on the bench.
He said: “I can only have six [outfield] players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench – I had two defenders and [Daley] Blind who can play in different areas. I had Ashley Young to cover me all of the wing and the wing-back position.
“I had [Ander] Herrera as a midfield player, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] as a striker and Marcus [Rashford] as a second striker and winger. I played [Anthony] Martial, [Juan] Mata and [Jesse] Lingard in the team. To have Micki means that I don’t have one of them and, in this moment, I believe the other ones they deserve [the chance to play].”
Mkhitaryan will be working hard in a bid to return when the Reds return to action on Sunday in the Premier League against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns (kick-off 14:15 GMT).
Follow us on social media:-
News1 day ago
Man regains freedom after being held in Edo prison for four years without a case file
-
Crime1 day ago
Two abducted as gunmen kill Babcock University lecturer in Ogun
-
News1 day ago
“How to know if she genuinely likes you” – Joeboy enlightens men
-
News1 day ago
“I slumped in the bathroom, passed out for almost 6 hours” – Zack Orji recounts near-death experience