Chile international missed opening game of tour after initially being denied a US visa
Friday 20 July 2018 14:07, UK
Jose Mourinho says Alexis Sanchez will play as soon as he arrives in the United States for Manchester United's pre-season tour.
The Chile international missed the opening game of the tour - a 1-1 draw with Mexican side Club America in Pheonix - along with all United's World Cup players, after initially being denied a US visa.
The issue has now been resolved but Mourinho is unsure if Sanchez will be available for the next game against San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
"I don't even know if he is flying, if he is in Los Angeles or if he is in Manchester - I have no idea about it," he said.
"There will be no [Romelu Lukaku] or [Marcus] Rashford, for sure, and we have to try with what we have. It's not about if he [Sanchez] can play, it's about when he has to.
"When Martial left the pitch, it was (Juan) Mata [leading the attack]. When Mata went to the sides, it was a kid that trained with us for the first time this pre-season [Mason Greenwood].
"There's no Lukaku or Rashford here and probably not even for the start of the Premier League, so it's about when Alexis lands and when he lands, he has to play.
"He trained with us for five days before we departed to Los Angeles and we left one fitness coach behind with him to keep training with him. Of course, it's individual training but when he arrives, he has to play."
United went behind against Club America when Henry Martin scored in the 60th minute but Juan Mata equalised in the 78th minute.
Mourinho told MUTV: "After five days of training you need to play and it's good to play against a team that is at three days' distance from starting their Mexican league.
Which teens have Man Utd taken on tour?
"So [they were] a team with intensity, a team with quality that pushed us to levels that we are not prepared for... so a good training session."
After playing San Jose, United take part in the International Champions Cup with matches against AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid.
MUTV is the only place to watch all of Manchester United's pre-season matches live, and hear first on new signings. Go to www.sky.com/mutv to find out more, or go to Sky channel 418 and press red.
