Manchester United’s Antony set for possible Galatasaray return, says Erik ten Hag

LONDON – Manchester United winger Antony could return for Tuesday’s Champions League home clash against Galatasaray, manager Erik ten Hag said on Monday.

The 23-year-old has not played for United since the first week of September and was withdrawn from Brazil’s squad for two World Cup qualifying matches amid police investigations into assault allegations made by his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin.

Antony has denied any wrongdoing.

Last week, the English Premier League club confirmed that Antony would resume training.

The club had earlier agreed to allow the Brazilian to take a period of absence.

“Antony will be in consideration. Yesterday was his first time back in team training. We have final training and then we make a decision,” said ten Hag ahead of United’s home game against Turkish champions Galatasaray.

“He will be in consideration, yes... He co-operated fully and it’s come out that he’s not charged.”

Since Antony’s return, Cavallin said via a statement: “Gabriela Cavallin’s attorneys inform that the crimes committed by the player are still being investigated by the Manchester police and also the Brazilian police, which is why we believe that he will soon be sent to court, where he will have to face a trial.

“It seems obvious to us that fallacies would be created with the intention of the team bringing him back to training.”

Ten Hag also confirmed that Lisandro Martinez would have to undergo surgery for a foot injury. The Argentinian centre back has been ruled out of action for an extended period, after aggravating an injury he suffered in April.

United go into their game against Galatasaray off the back of a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday, which dropped them down to 10th in the Premier League standings.

It was their fourth league defeat of the season – making this their worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1989-90.

Despite United’s recent struggles, ten Hag said his team were “moving forward”, adding: “You have to make adjustments. We don’t have a fullback on the left side.

“There are shortages in our game. A lot of positives but, at the end of the day, it is about results and we didn’t get it.”

To get results, ten Hag will need to get star attacker Marcus Rashford scoring again.

He has found the net just once in eight matches in all competitions this season, following a breakthrough 2022-23 campaign where he netted 30 times.

Said ten Hag: “The fact is he is not scoring in this moment, but he had opportunities.

“He had five or six against Brighton (& Hove Albion) and if he works hard, if he invests every day, goes with the right focus and if the team around him supply and help him and support him with movement, then it will come.

“Marcus Rashford is a player who is capable of scoring goals in every game and when he comes in the right spot, he will score.”

United are bottom of Group A in the Champions League, after a 4-3 defeat by Bayern Munich in their opening match in September, but defender Raphael Varane said they possessed the quality to win the Champions League.

This, despite the Red Devils suffering five defeats in nine games across all competitions.

“You need to be efficient to win trophies. We have the quality in the squad to win competitions. We have to move forward and improve,” said Varane.

“The competition is difficult, you have to take care of every detail but we have a team of quality, of good mentality.

“We have to make some improvements. It was not the start to the season we expected, but I still believe we have the quality to compete with the best teams in the world.” REUTERS