Manchester United star has just wasted the biggest opportunity of his Old Trafford career under Ten Hag

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Manchester United winger Antony is back in training, and this is further bad news for Jadon Sancho.

A club statement last week confirmed Antony was eligible to return to training and selection, before he was pictured at Carrington with his teammates on Sunday.

If Antony is involved against Galatasaray in the Champions League this week, it will be the first time he has played in a month.

Antony is United’s first choice right-winger. His absence has allowed some opportunities to Facundo Pellistri, while Jadon Sancho has also been sidelined.

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Jadon Sancho has wasted the last month

Jadon Sancho is not involved with the Manchester United first team after a bust-up with manager Erik ten Hag.

Sancho had hit back at Ten Hag’s reasoning for leaving him out of the squad against Arsenal at the start of September, disputing that he had been below-par in training.

Ten Hag and Sancho have been unable to repair their relationship, with Sancho training alone, and ESPN report the winger has refused to apologise.

The sad part about all this for Sancho, is that he has just allowed the biggest opportunity of his United career under Erik ten Hag to pass him by.

Since his arrival in 2022, Antony has been the first choice on Manchester United’s right-wing.

Rio Ferdinand suggested on Vibe with Five in early September that Sancho was frustrated to be constantly overlooked for Antony, amid the former Ajax man’s inconsistent form.

And this makes his refusal to make-good with Erik ten Hag over the past month even more self-defeating.

This whole month, with Antony out, Sancho could have been playing. He has missed games against Brighton, Bayern Munich, Burnley, and two against Crystal Palace.

Entering this week’s game against Galatasaray, he could have been a clear first choice at the position, if he had simply set his pride to one side, and focused on proving his quality on the pitch.

All Sancho is doing at the moment, is proving nothing, other than to suggest he is not bothered about ever playing for Manchester United again.

Antony is back

Now Antony is back under consideration for selection once again, he is expected to soon reclaim his spot as Manchester United’s go-to right-winger.

Let’s say Sancho ends his self-imposed hiatus and apologises to Erik ten Hag tomorrow, he has already wasted the opportunity to step in while Antony is out.

There is nothing to say Sancho can’t get his United career back on track if he fixes his situation, and starts showing his quality in training and on the pitch, but getting regular starting minutes looks like it will be as difficult as ever.

While Antony was not placed on leave of absence when Sancho sent his tweet last month, the former Dortmund winger had plenty of time to re-assess the situation, and try to make amends with his manager.

Now his best opportunity to get into the Manchester United team has passed him by.