Erik ten Hag has shed a light on Jadon Sancho’s troublesome situation during Manchester United’s training camp in Spain.
Sancho missed the Red Devils last five matches in the run up to the Qatar World Cup and has since removed all of his social media posts and has been seen training with an amateur Dutch side in a bid to improve his fitness.
The club caused a stir with their statement that the 22-year-old would not be joining his teammates for their preparations in Spain, and it has led many to wonder what exactly is going on with Jadon Sancho.
According to Ten Hag, “He’s not fit enough to be here.
“He wasn’t in the right status, in the right fitness state, so now he’s on an individual programme and we want him to finish that programme and hopefully, we see him back soon.”
Ten Hag: “He’s [Sancho] not fit enough to be here [Spain training camp] — he wasn’t in the right status, in the right fitness state, so now he’s on an individual programme and we want him to finish that programme and hopefully, we see him back soon.”
— utdreport (@utdreport) December 13, 2022
But the matter does not solely concern fitness and no estimate has been given regarding Sancho’s eventual return to first-team matter.
“We want to bring him back as quickly as possible, but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be,” said the manager. “It’s a combination of physical but also mentally.”
Jadon Sancho won’t return to Man Utd until he is physically and mentally ready to play for the club again. Ten Hag: ‘We want to bring him back as quickly as possible, but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be. It’s a combination of physical but also mentally.’ #mufc
— Chris Wheeler (@ChrisWheelerDM) December 13, 2022
Sancho’s drop in form earlier in the season was hard to miss and led many fans to speculate on whether the Englishman was struggling in some way.
The clarification from Ten Hag will hopefully limit such speculation and allow the player to concentrate on getting back to his best.
An on-form Sancho is a dangerous prospect for any defence, and Old Trafford has been unfortunate to have witness it so few times since his £73m move from Borussia Dortmund.
But with Euros heartache, family issues, and struggles to adapt to the Premier League all mounting up, the winger clearly has hurdles to overcome off the pitch before he can be properly effective on it.
What is clear is that Erik ten Hag is determined to do what is necessary to help Jadon Sancho recapture his best days, even if it does leave the squad even shorter on attacking numbers.
