Anthony Martial has been told to train on his own to improve his fitness before Erik Ten Hag will consider picking him for Manchester United.
Mail Sport has learned that Martial has not trained with his team-mates since picking up a sickness bug last month, which has prevented the Frenchman from playing since United’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on 9 December.
Ten Hag has given little away when asked about Martial in recent weeks, saying only that he was not fit ahead of last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham. It is understood that the 28-year-old is not currently suffering from injury however, but that he has yet to regain sufficient fitness following last month’s illness.
Ten Hag’s decision for Martial to train on his own is not a disciplinary matter, but reflects his belief in individual training for players lacking match fitness.
Martial is currently not deemed to be fit enough to work with the first-team group at present given the intensity and work-rate the manager demands from his players in training.