Injury hit Reds urged to be brave

PHIL Jones and Chris Smalling were once again urged by Jose Mourinho to overcome fitness concerns and return to his injury-hit Manchester United side after they moved one point off the top four.

A United side missing defensive duo Jones and Smalling, as well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo, defeated Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor as first-half goals from Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney extended their unbeaten run to 23 Premier League games.

United, who are still in the Europa League, will now enter Thursday's derby encounter with fourth-placed Manchester City just one point behind their neighbours, but the accumulation of fixtures continues to come at a cost, with Paul Pogba now a concern for that match after he came off late on in East Lancashire.

OPTIONS

With his options decreasing, Mourinho had last Thursday implored Jones and Smalling "to be brave" and take a risk on their respective foot and knee problems, and he once more issued a public message to the pair by insisting Eric Bailly's continued presence in his team should inspire them to return for the collective cause.

"He (Bailly) is incredible. If I was Smalling or Jones, I would play Thursday, with anything, I would," Mourinho said.

"I wouldn't accept one guy to play nine matches in a row because I am injured. If it was me, nobody would stop me to play."

The Portuguese was unsure if Pogba had sustained a problem himself yesterday, or if he was merely "dead" after a 51st appearance of the campaign for club and county.

Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic is beginning a "really hard" rehabilitation process from his knee ligament injury because of his age, according to Mourinho.

The 35-year-old Swede and defender Marcos Rojo have both suffered what their club have termed "significant knee-ligament damage", with the former's United future in jeopardy given his deal expires this summer.

"Zlatan, in this phase of his career, it is really hard," said Mourinho.

"It's really sad for them both."