Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed Romelu Lukaku has agreed to cut short his holiday in a bid to be available for the start of the season while admitting he “doesn’t know” when Anthony Martial will return to training.
Even with key players returning early, Mourinho says he is expecting the first three games of the season against Leicester, Brighton and Tottenham will be “tough”.
“Rashford, Jones and Lukaku, they gave to the group and to the team three days of their holidays so they’re coming back three days early to try and be available for the team,” he said after the 2-1 win over Real Madrid at Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday.
“With the fantastic spirit we have in the majority of the players, I repeat, in the majority of the players, we have a fantastic spirit, we go with everything we have to the Premier League.
“Let’s look at it from a positive side and wait for [Victor] Lindelof, Rashford, Lukaku and Jones, which are going to be four important players for us, not prepared but they will be back and that’s the spirit we need because I think our first two or three weeks in the Premier League — Leicester, Brighton, Tottenham — I think these two weeks are going to be really hard for us because we didn’t prepare for that and that’s what it is.”
Lindelof has already returned to Carrington following the World Cup while Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba — not mentioned by Mourinho as part of the group returning early — are still on holiday.
Lingard and Rashford, on a break together in Miami, were both in the stands for the victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday.
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