Kobbie Mainoo misses Man Utd training before Brentford clash
- Mainoo has enjoyed a meteoric rise in Man Utd's midfield and recently made his England debut
- Teenager missed training before the Brentford game through illness
- Erik ten Hag unsure whether Mainoo will be fit for Saturday's match
By Tom Gott
Kobbie Mainoo missed Manchester United training on Thursday after coming down with an illness, manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed.
The 18-year-old has quickly established himself as a vital cog in United's midfield and his rapid development was rewarded with two England caps during the recent international break.
However, Mainoo returned from England duty feeling unwell and was forced to miss training on Thursday, with Ten Hag admitting he does not know whether the youngster will be ready to face Brentford on Saturday.
"[On Thursday] he skipped training because he was ill," Ten Hag said of the teenager. "I don’t know [if he will be fit for Brentford]. We hope.
"[In Friday's session] he is there, not fully recovered but we still have many hours before kick-off at 8pm."
Losing Mainoo would be an enormous blow to Ten Hag, who has put plenty of faith in the teenager at the base of United's midfield this season.
Mainoo has started United's last 12 Premier League games and 14 of the last 16, but is in danger of seeing that streak come to an end with the trip to Brentford on Saturday.
Should Mainoo miss out, Ten Hag may find himself with a headache. It is unclear whether Casemiro, who missed international duty through injury, is fit enough to feature, meaning either Christian Eriksen or Mason Mount could take Mainoo's place alongside Scott McTominay.
In more positive news, Ten Hag believes centre-back Lisandro Martinez could return against Brentford and there is even hope that left-back Luke Shaw will make his comeback before the season comes to a close.
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