Mourinho Confirms Jones Is Set To Return

Jose Mourinho has sympathised with Phil Jones’s "difficult relationship with injuries" and hinted the Manchester United defender is fit enough to make his first appearance of the season.

The 24-year-old England international has tallied 141 outings since joining the Reds in 2011 but, crucially, very few of those have been registered in the last 12 months due to a series of problematic injuries.

Jones was pictured training with the first team again on Monday and later named in a 21-man squad that flew out to Istanbul on Wednesday for the Europa League tie against Fenerbahce.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Istanbul, United manager Mourinho was asked to provide an update on the player’s fitness and potential return to the pitch.

“Well, I almost don't remember when Phil Jones had a good run of matches for United,” Jose told reporters. “I don't remember. I remember when I was at Real Madrid, I played against United and Phil Jones played in Madrid, but I don't remember too many occasions after that.

“He's having a difficult relationship with injuries and it's been difficult this season for him, but he worked hard to recover and he's been training with the team for more than a week now.

“We're in a difficult situation because we lost three defenders in a week; [Antonio] Valencia, [Eric] Bailly and [Chris] Smalling. Because of this difficult situation, we don't have more time to be in better conditions. We have to select him and maybe we have to play him.”