Gary Neville aims jibe at Man Utd star’s antics after recent Rangnick reveal
Gary Neville has mocked Edinson Cavani after he asked Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick if he could sit out his side’s return to action.
United are back at Old Trafford on Friday following their winter break with an FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough. The time off for some players has led to them being in contention to play.
Indeed, Rangnick confirmed that Paul Pogba could play from the start after building up his fitness.
Left-back Luke Shaw could also be in the starting line-up after his own recent spell out with injury. He will replace Alex Telles, who will not feature after playing 90 minutes for Brazil on Wednesday.
Cavani, meanwhile, will also not play. He played 66 minutes and scored in Uruguay’s 4-1 win over Venezuela on Tuesday.
And Rangnick revealed that while he would not have played from the start against Boro anyway due to jetlag, the 34-year-old striker asked for extra days off.
In response, former Man Utd full-back Neville aimed a Twitter jibe at Cavani.
He joked: “Sue wanted a day off, Alan took a holiday, John was ill, Barry handed his notice in, Clive said he might be there and Barbara will be on the minutes!”
Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Jesse Lingard will also miss out in the FA Cup fourth-round clash.
Bailly has a swollen ankle, while Lindelof is ill. However, Lingard’s absence has proved more controversial.
Rangnick claimed in his pre-match press conference that the 29-year-old also asked for time off to “clear his mind” after he failed to get a transfer away in January.
He had links with Newcastle and West Ham, a move eventually failed to materialise.
Lingard hits back at Rangnick
Rangnick revealed that, towards the start of January, Lingard – who has struggled for game time at Old Trafford – wanted to stay.
However, he changed his mind and while talks began with Newcastle, they could not come to an agreement.
But amid Rangnick’s claim that Lingard needed time off to clear his head, the attacker hit back on Thursday.
He said: “The club advised me to have time off due to personal reasons!
“But my headspace is clear and I’ll always be professional when called upon and give 100 percent.”
After facing Middlesbrough, United return to Premier League action next Tuesday when facing Burnley.
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