‘Improving’ Sancho could return for FA Cup tie

MANCHESTER, England — Erik ten Hag has left the door open for Jadon Sancho to make his Manchester United return against Reading in the FA Cup.

The winger has not featured since the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Oct. 22 and spent time away from the club during the break for the World Cup, with Ten Hag saying Sancho was working to overcome “physical and mental” issues.

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He is back training with the squad at Carrington and Ten Hag said he could be involved in the squad for the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Old Trafford on Saturday (2.30 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+, US Only).

“He is training with the team and we will see,” Ten Hag told a news conference on Friday. “He’s improving. He’s making steps and we will make the decision after training [on Friday].

“I said he’s on the way back, he’s making steps, he’s back in team training and we have to see when he’s ready to go back into games.”

Luke Shaw, who missed the Carabao Cup victory over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, is a doubt to face Reading but Diogo Dalot has been ruled out.

The Portugal full-back has missed the last four games with a muscle injury.

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“Dalot is definitely out and Shaw is a question mark,” Ten Hag added.

“We have to see after training. We always have issues but I think we will have a strong selection for this game. We have a good squad, we can cover things.”

United are heavy favourites to beat Reading, who are 14th in the Championship, but Ten Hag has warned his team against complacency.

“Football is never decided on paper,” he said. “We have to be ready for every game, every opponent will be touch, especially in the cup because for them it’s a perfect chance.

“We have to be aware of that, be on the front foot, focused and with energy.

“We want to win every game, so we plan every game fully and the next game is also the most important.”