Jose Mourinho fumes at Gareth Southgate over SIX England jabs for Phil Jones
Manchester United boss blasts FA over the treatment of his defender in Wembley friendly with Germany
JOSE MOURINHO is fuming with Gareth Southgate after learning Phil Jones had SIX injections to play in England’s friendly with Germany.
Manchester United defender Jones aggravated a thigh injury in the first half of last Friday’s 0-0 draw and could be KO’d for up to three weeks.
Mourinho said: “I’ve been a manager since 2000 and in 17 years I’ve never had one single player who had injections of an anaesthetic to play a friendly.
"Never. Never.
“I am not an angel and I have had players injected to play official matches, crucial matches but a friendly — to get six local anaesthetic injections to play a friendly.
“I’ve never heard of that. But Phil Jones had it and had it before the match and after 15 minutes he was out and now is out for us.
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“He didn’t feel good during the warm-up. Between the warm-up and the start of the match he had five more local anaesthetic injections.”
Mourinho was already annoyed other clubs pulled players out of chief Southgate’s Three Lions squad with slight knocks.
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Yet many of them, like Harry Kane, will be in Premier League action this weekend.
Mourinho added: “If a player was injured Tuesday and is ready to play tomorrow there is something wrong.”
Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte has also put the boot into Southgate.
Conte leapt to the defence of Danny Drinkwater over claims his midfielder, who has just returned from a calf injury, is shirking international duty.
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He said: “Drinkwater was very honest and he doesn’t deserve to be attacked.
"It is important to have more of a relationship between the coach and the coach of the national team.”
