Chronicle Editor
LONDON — Jose Mourinho has slammed the England management for playing an injured Phil Jones in their goalless friendly draw with Germany last Friday.
Jones had been struggling with a thigh injury for a number of weeks, but honoured his call-up to the national side.
He was named in the starting line-up to face the World champions, but lasted just 25 minutes before breaking down and being replaced by Joe Gomez.
Mourinho says he was naive to expect the England medical staff to take better care of the Manchester United defender.
He said: “Of course, Phil Jones had a problem. He was having a problem for three weeks, he’s having problems that are stopping him playing for his club and then he plays for his club in extreme conditions [against Chelsea] because it’s a big match.
“And then he goes to the national team and he comes home with an ongoing injury that everyone knows is an ongoing injury.”
Mourinho added that while Jones suffered by being with England, a number of players, including Danny Drinkwater and Fabian Delph, who pulled out of the squad with injury, won’t have any issues as a result of their absence.
He explained: “You have always some clubs where their players, they always have something.
“It could be a fingernail, he has a little flu, he has a problem with the little toe, and they withdraw, and they stay with their clubs and they have their holidays and they have their rest.
“Then, there are always the clubs where the mangers are naive, too pure and they say you have to go and they go and sometimes they pay the price.
“I want to see this next weekend if the players that were not going to the national team, I want to see if they are going to play. Drinkwater? Delph? The only one that is not playing is Phil Jones.”
Jones now looks set to miss United’s clash against Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle United at Old Trafford tomorrow.
Weekend fixtures
Tomorrow: Arsenal v Spurs 2.30pm (Emirates Stadium): Liverpool v Southampton 17:00 (Anfield): Leicester City v Man City 17:00 (King Power Stadium): Crystal Palace v Everton 17:00 (Selhurst Park): West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea 17:00 (The Hawthorns):
Burnley v Swansea City 17:00 (Turf Moor):
AFC Bournemouth v Huddersfield Town 17:00 (Vitality Stadium): Manchester United v Newcastle United 19:30 (Old Trafford)
Sunday: Watford v West Ham United 18:00 (Vicarage Road Stadium)
Monday: Brighton & Hove Albion v Stoke City. —BBC Sport
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