Manchester United defender Phil Jones playing through pain barrier with ankle injury
Jones has started the season brightly alongside Eric Bailly
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Your support makes all the difference.Phil Jones is playing through the pain barrier for Manchester United, with Jose Mourinho revealing that the in-form defender is struggling with an ankle problem.
Jones has impressed alongside Eric Bailly in the heart of defence during each of United’s opening Premier League fixtures, with the 25-year-old preferred to both Chris Smalling and summer signing Victor Lindelof.
Mourinho’s side are yet to concede a league goal this season and maintained their perfect start by to the new campaign by beating a resolute Leicester City side 2-0 on Saturday.
Speaking after the victory, Mourinho said that Jones has the potential to be “everything” the United manager likes in a centre-back but that he requires regular attention from the club’s medical department.
“He's potentially a very good player. He's still young, still at a learning age, but for years and years and years he was injury prone,” Mourinho said.
“He has a problem now. He’s complaining about ankle problems. He’s the kind of player where we need to have him always in our hands, with a lot of care from the medical department.”
The United manager added: "If we manage to have him safe, protected from injuries, I think potentially he’s everything I like in a central defender.”
Jones will not be available for United’s first game back in the Champions League next month while he serves a two-game suspension for swearing at a Uefa doping official after last year’s Europa League final.
Bailly is also suspended for United’s European opener against Basel but Mourinho is confident that Smalling and Lindelof will be able to fill the void.
“Eric [Bailly] is playing really well. I have to say that [Chris] Smalling is in a very good condition, I have also to say that Victor [Lindelof] is improving every day,” he said.
“As we know against Basel, Jones and Eric are both suspended so we play Victor and Smalling and no problem at all. The squad is good and the mentality of the players is very good too.”
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