Jose Mourinho Reveals Reason Why Man Utd's Antonio Valencia Won’t Feature Against Young Boys
Manchester United kick off their Champions League campaign on Wednesday night in Switzerland but will be missing one of their oldest players when they face Young Boys.
Boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that club captain Antonio Valencia will not play over fears of their plastic pitch.
As reported by the Mirror, the Red Devils manager does not want to risk the Ecuadorian, who missed the first two games of the season through injury.
James Williamson - AMA/GettyImages
United will play at the Stade de Suisse on a synthetic 3G pitch and Mourinho insisted it isn’t worth taking the risk.
Mourinho said: “We decide not to play Antonio Valencia because his knee is not a knee that needs an artificial pitch at all.
“Valencia's situation, we need to protect his clinical situation, apart from that we go with everything we have and have to try and win.
“So, we brought Luke Shaw back to the squad and to the team."
Despite his concerns about players picking up injuries, Mourinho asserted that he does not see the pitch as being a big hindrance to his team.
He added: “I don't want to use the pitch, especially before the match, as a possible excuse for a not very good performance.”
Matthew Ashton - AMA/GettyImages
Forward Marcus Rashford is expected to be named in the starting lineup for United following his two goals in two games for England during the international break.
The 20-year-old looks set to partner Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku in the United attack.
In the other Champions League Group H match, Italian champions Juventus travel to Valencia.
