Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has criticised the England set-up after Phil Jones aggravated a thigh injury in his country’s friendly draw with Germany.
Players including Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson withdrew from Gareth Southgate’s England squad for friendlies against Germany and Brazil due to injury.
But despite nursing a left thigh problem, Jones reported for duty, only for the 25-year-old defender to be forced off in the first half of last Friday’s 0-0 draw against Germany at Wembley.
Mourinho, who will be without Jones for Saturday’s home game with Newcastle United, told Thursday’s Daily Mirror: “I don’t think it is possible for a player with a problem to play in a friendly.
“He was having a problem for three weeks, he’s having problems that are stopping him to play for his club and then he plays for his club in extreme conditions because it’s a big match against Chelsea.
“And then he goes to the national team and he comes home with an ongoing injury that everyone knows is an ongoing injury.”
Mourinho said he had been “naive” to let Jones join up with England and suggested other clubs were being over-protective of their players.
“You have always some clubs where their players always have something,” he said.
“It could be a fingernail, a little flu, 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 are going to play.
“(Chelsea’s Danny) Drinkwater? (Manchester City’s Fabian) Delph? The only one that is not playing is Phil Jones.”
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