

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises from this week's training sessions for Manchester United was Bastian Schweinsteiger's return to practice after Jose Mourinho and his staff decided to take him back from ostracism due to the lack of positive results. Now we know Mourinho is desperate, because Bastian wasn't even his fifth choice and the bad run of late has pushed him to really look at all the options he has.
Talking to the press about the German, Mourinho said: "We made the decision last Thursday, we informed him last Friday so he joined the team last Monday. It's a decision based on the fact that we're in a period where it's really difficult to train with everybody together. In this moment, the next day after we play, the players who played train in a different recovery session so the group becomes 13, 14, and with injuries sometimes 10, 11.
"The way Bastian was working professionally, every day with the fitness coach, it's a human decision, a professional decision to bring him back to the team. He'll be in much better condition in case his future decision is to leave the club. If he stays with us and becomes one more option - and in this moment we have no problems in midfield - but if we do one day then he will be one more option. It's a decision that can be positive for the group, so it's good for us and for him."
Photo credit: Manchester United FC