Jose Mourinho Confirms Romelu Lukaku Will Cut Vacation Short, Unsure Over Anthony Martial Return
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho may have the likes of Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Phil Jones to call upon for the Premier League curtain-raiser against Leicester next Friday, after he confirmed they will return to training shortly.
Mourinho saw his side beat European champions Real Madrid 2-1 in the United States on Tuesday night - thanks to goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera - with his side now set to return to Europe following their pre-season tour. It was United's first and only win of a difficult (to say the least) period across the pond.
The United boss has cut a frustrated and irritated figure since the beginning of the campaign, and admitted that he hadn't taken any lessons from their stay in his post-match press conference.
He said, via Sky Sports: "I didn't learn anything [from the tour]. I know what Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez are.
"I know the kids are very young and need time to grow up, I know my players gave everything and in the last 15 minutes, we are dead and they bring on Toni Kroos and Asensio and Isco and I thought we wouldn't resist but we did.
"That's the spirit we need, because our first two or three weeks in the Premier League are going to be really hard for us...we didn't prepare for that.
"People like Herrera, Bailly, Darmian, Mata, all these guys, were phenomenal during the whole pre-season, playing almost every minute of every game. The game today - if we win 2-1, we lose 2-1 or draw 2-2 - it doesn't change anything but of course I know the players and I know I can count on them.
"I know that these guys are amazing professionals and I know that they give everything for the club, for the prestige of the club. The guys were absolutely phenomenal."
One player he isn't happy with, however, is Anthony Martial, and he admitted he "didn't know" when the Frenchman would link up with the squad again after leaving the camp to attend the birth of his second child. Martial is believed to want to leave the club, and Mourinho is irritated that he has yet to return to action when his team are light of forwards.
He even passed the question over to United's press officer, Karen Shotbolt, to answer.
Lukaku and Rashford's decisions to return early from holiday will however help, with Mourinho confirming they - along with Jones - would come back three days early.
