Jose's squad news update ahead of Sevilla clash

Tuesday 20 February 2018 18:43

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has explained that the players returning to his Champions League squad trained in front of the media on Tuesday before flying to Seville.

There was a change in the usual routine at the Aon Training Complex as the cameras were able to capture a later part of the session, with Paul Pogba, Antonio Valencia, Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera all present after missing the Emirates FA Cup victory at Huddersfield Town.

The quartet's availability is a boost ahead of the round-of-16 tie with Sevilla as the Reds seek a positive result ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford.

"We opened the training session today and I open in a period where we normally don't open," said the manager. "We normally do it in the warming up and the first simple drills of the training session. This time, we did it for quite a long time and in the last period so we could see players in a competitive situation.

"When a player is in that competitive situation, it's because the players are normally ready and without problems, so you could see in that training some people that didn't play against Huddersfield with problems - like Pogba, Valencia, Rashford and Herrera."

Ander Herrera is back in the squad for the game in his homeland.

Ever Banega, Joaquin Correa and Luis Muriel are all fit and available for the hosts but Sebastian Corchia is rated doutful.

"I normally say that Champions League dreams start around the quarter-finals and not yet in the last 16," added the boss. "Last 16 still looks a long way to go. When a team reaches the quarter-finals, I think it's the moment where even the teams that are not favourites - which is our case - they start realising that anything is possible. 

"But for the moment, I think we have to just focus on the very difficult opponent [Sevilla] and the first match of this two-legged knockout tie - a match that doesn't decide anything but is very important."