Nov 3, 2016 at 6pm UK at ​Sukru Saracoglu Stadium
Fenerbahce
vs.
Man UtdManchester United

Jose Mourinho: 'I may be forced to play Phil Jones against Fenerbahce'

Phil Jones of Manchester United on the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on September 26, 2015 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
© Getty Images
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says that he may be forced to play Phil Jones against Fenerbahce tomorrow night due to the club's injury woes in defence.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he may be forced to play Phil Jones against Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday night due to the teams injury-ravaged defence.

The Red Devils are without Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia ahead of tomorrow's Group A clash in Istanbul.

Jones has been included in the squad, but the 24-year-old has not played a single minute this season due to a knee ligament injury.

In fact, the defender, who joined United from Blackburn Rovers in 2011, has not played a competitive match since January.

"I almost don't remember when Phil Jones had a good run of matches for United," Mourinho told reporters in a press conference. "I remember that, when I was at Real Madrid, I played against Man United and Phil Jones played in Madrid. I don't remember many occasions after that.

"He's having a difficult relationship with injuries but he worked hard to recover, he's training with the team for more than a week now.

"We're in a difficult situation because we lost three defenders in Valencia, Bailly and Smalling. We don't have more time to be in better condition so we have to select him and maybe we have to play him."

United defeated the Turkish outfit 4-1 at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.

Jose Mourinho the manager of Chelsea looks on during the Capital One Cup fourth round match between Stoke City and Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium on October 27, 2015 in Stoke on Trent, England.
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City107212491523
2Arsenal1072123101323
3Liverpool1072124131123
4Chelsea107122191222
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs10550145920
6Everton10532158718
7Watford104331413115
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd104331312115
9Southampton103431110113
10Bournemouth103341214-212
11Leicester CityLeicester103341216-412
12Stoke CityStoke103341217-512
13Crystal Palace103251416-211
14Burnley10325813-511
15Middlesbrough10244911-210
16West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom102441014-410
17West Ham UnitedWest Ham103161019-910
18Hull City10217823-157
19Swansea CitySwansea10127918-95
20Sunderland10028720-132