Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has slammed England and its coach Gareth Southgate for not giving enough rest to 18-year-old Mason Greenwood.
Greenwood had earned his first senior call up for the Nations League fixtures earlier this month.
The 18-year-old was then involved in a controversy as he broke COVID-19 rules by meeting two girls, with Phil Foden, in the team hotel and this resulted in both players being sent home.
"The kid had a fantastic season, he's just come through, we've worked really hard to give Mason enough time on the pitch, exposure in the media. Then you come to the end of the season and we've had less than two weeks off an he's called up. I tried my best to give him a rest over the summer," Goal.com quoted Solskjaer as saying.
"We asked specifically that he should have had a rest, he needs it mentally and physically and first thing that happens he's called up and he's right there in the press. We've done what we can to protect him, I've done what I can to help him, when he comes back into the daily routine he'll be fine," he added.
Manchester United will take on Crystal Palace in their opening match of the Premier League 2020-21 season on Saturday, September 19.
Prior to the match, Greenwood was required to train alone due to Covid restrictions but he has been back in full training and is in contention to play against Crystal Palace.
"This is where he feels at home, not comfortable, we challenge him, he's got people looking after him. had a plan with him throughout the season and it worked really well," Solskjaer said.
"He needed a rest. I looked at the interview (Greenwood's England press conference) and he's talking about maybe looking back at this season when it's over. And that's actually on the first day of his new season. We have to understand he's an 18-year-old kid who needs managing," he concluded.
( With inputs from ANI )
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