Harry Maguire was allowed to jet off to Portugal last week in a bid to “clear his head” after being given permission by Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils captain has endured a miserable start to the current campaign and his recent injury may have actually come at a welcome time seeing as it takes Maguire out of the firing line. While his teammates were in Cyprus taking on Omonia in the Europa League, the defender was enjoying some downtime at Portuguese golf resort Quinta do Lagofor.
The mid-season getaway was granted by his superiors at United, who feel as if the England international could benefit from some downtime before getting back into the thick of things for both club and country.
Ten Hag is clearly trying anything and willing to do whatever it takes to try and get a tune out of Maguire, who has in truth looked way off the pace for quite some time - some would argue the whole of his Old Trafford stay.
However, the decision to allow Maguire permission for a holiday during the league season has gone down very poorly with other sections of the United squad. A source told The Sun : "He [Maguire] went away with his family and Erik hopes that will put him in a better place to recover from injury and rediscover his form.
"But it’s not a good look when the club captain is missing from the plane to Cyprus - and is instead allowed to go and play golf in Portugal."
The fury from other players within the United squad is thought to stem from the fact that previously, Ten Hag has demanded that all injured players remain at the club's Carrington training base and return to fitness there.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Was it wrong of Ten Hag to let Maguire take a trip abroad mid-season? Comment below
By making an exemption for Maguire, it could start to divide the United dressing room and create the kind of friction that marred the reigns of both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his interim successor Ralf Rangnick.
A United spokesman said: "Harry was given permission to travel to Portugal to continue his rehabilitation while the rest of the squad was in Cyprus, allowing him to benefit from the same warm weather conditions.
"Harry was accompanied by a United physio and has been working hard on his recovery. He is due back at Carrington on Sunday."
The statement confirms Maguire will miss Sunday's trip to Everton.
Ten Hag has already recently supported his much-maligned captain publicly, telling reporters: "I have to back him but I back him because I believe in him. I can see the qualities and even after he wasn’t in the team he trained really well and, more importantly, the quality was really there.
“You see his career, almost 50 caps for England, for Leicester and Man United - he’s performing really well, what you see is high potential. And then it’s about him. The players in the dressing room, the coaches, the manager believe in him.
"That’s what I told him, I’m sure he can do it and he will turn it around, I’m convinced of that."
