Jones Hope To Regain Starting Place

Phil Jones is feeling good after recovering from a mild case of thrombosis and now hopes to regain his place in Louis van Gaal's starting XI at Manchester United.

The England international made his first appearance of the season in last week’s Capital One Cup clash with Ipswich Town and enjoyed another cameo against Sunderland at the weekend, before stepping off the bench for the third successive game during Wednesday’s Champions League win over Wolfsburg.

Jones replaced Bastian Schweinsteiger and ultimately helped the Reds to consolidate an important Group B victory against the hard-working Bundesliga side at Old Trafford. Speaking to MUTV after the final whistle, he provided a positive update on his improving fitness and plans for the rest of the campaign.

"I am fit," Jones said. "I got 20 or 25 minutes against Ipswich, 20 minutes against Sunderland and just under 20 minutes tonight so I am slowly getting back to it and getting my fitness back, and my sharpness back. I feel good, so hopefully I can just stay fit and integrate my way back into the side."

On the match itself, Jones was keen to emphasise the significance of beating Wolfsburg after losing the opening Group B match to PSV Eindhoven in Holland earlier this season.

"It was important that we got back to winning ways in the group after a disappointing start against PSV. We didn’t start the best but I think we finished the game well, we were strong and got the three points.

"It was a difficult test because they defended well as a defensive unit and made it hard for us to score, but we created quite a few chances in the first half. We probably could have gone in 2-1 up, but overall I think we did well to take the three points."

Juan Mata’s penalty restored parity after Daniel Caligiuri’s opening goal before Chris Smalling notched the winning goal just after the half-time break. That strike is the latest highlight in the defender’s excellent start to the season and Jones is happy for his team-mate.

"Yeah, he has been brilliant this season," Phil admitted. "He scored a great goal tonight, with his little run forward at the end as well! But he has been great and I am pleased for him."