Erik ten Hag says Jadon Sancho is not ready ‘physically or mentally’ to play as Manchester United winger left out of mid-season training camp in Spain after World Cup squad snub

Jadon Sancho is not ready ‘physically or mentally’ to play, according to Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

Sancho was left out of the club’s mid-season training camp and sent to the Netherlands by his boss to train by himself with specially selected coaches, and will not return until he is ready to pull on a Red Devils shirt again.

The 22-year-old has not played a game since October 22 due to illness, and suffered a huge personal blow when he was left out of England’s World Cup squad – and wasn’t even in the conversation.

Sancho has played for the Three Lions just once since his penalty shoot-out miss in the Euro 2021 final, and while Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford have bounced back from their spot kick misses, Sancho is yet to recover any kind of form.

He was left out of United’s travelling party that flew to Spain for a winter training camp last week, with Ten Hag sending the wide man to his homeland for specialist training instead.

There were fears over the player when he turned off his social media accounts recently, although it is claimed this was to focus on his family and the second half of the season.

Ten Hag has spoken out about the situation, but refused to put a timeframe on Sancho’s possible return to the Man United squad and first-team training.

“I don’t think he will be back this week, no,” said Ten Hag. 

“We want to bring him back as quickly as possible, but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be. Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. We got a drop of quality level and sometimes you don’t know why or what is causing it.

“That is what we are doing now to try to get him back there. It is a combination of physically and mentally.

“I’ve had several talks with Jadon and I don’t think he will be back this week.

Explaining Sancho’s absence from the group he took to Spain, Ten Hag added: “He wasn’t fit enough to be there. It’s a combination of physically and mentally.”

Sancho has struggled to prove value for money since his £73million arrival from Borussia Dortmund.

The English starlet arrived with a reputation as one of the most exciting young players in Europe, with a record of 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 appearances for German outfit.

However, he has failed to maintain that scintillating form in a United shirt, having managed just eight goals and four assists in 52 games for the Premier League giants.

Sancho has also seen £82m signing Antony make an instant impact in the team following his summer arrival from Ajax, and even 18-year-old Spanish ace Alejandro Garnacho keep him out of the team.

Meanwhile, reported interest in the likes of Cody Gakpo and Christian Pulisic seemingly put Sancho’s place in the team even further in doubt.

“Most of the time it comes slowly,” Ten Hag added. 

“On the [pre-season] tour he played well, and the start of the league he played some good games like Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal. Then his performance was lower. First you observe but then the stats back it up.

“At the start of the season, he had goals, assists, key moments and key actions and it became less and less. 

“We got a drop of quality level and that happens sometimes. You don’t know what is causing it. That is what we are doing now, trying to research and now we try to get him back there. 

“I think there is huge competition for England. When you don’t show it week by week, you can fall out of the squad, which is what happened.”