Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Jadon Sancho is back in Manchester - but is not yet in a position to rejoin the Manchester United first-team.
Sancho, 22, missed United's mid-season training camp in Spain and trained alone with a handful of coaches recommended by Ten Hag in a bid to help him recapture his form. The winger has struggled to live up to expectations at Old Trafford since his £73million switch from Borussia Dortmund 18 months ago.
Ten Hag explained earlier this month that Sancho had been struggling "physically and mentally" and that he not ready to be considered for selection for United's match against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, which they won 3-0.
Ahead of United's trip to Wolves on New Years Eve, Ten Hag has confirmed that Sancho is back in the country and heading in the right direction - but will still not be considered for a return to the first-team fold anytime soon.
"The time is not now [for him to return to the squad] but he is making progress," said Ten Hag, ahead of United's trip to Wolves on Saturday. "We will see when he is ready to return into the squad. He's back in Manchester, he will start individual training."
Sancho last featured for United against Chelsea back in October shortly before it was confirmed that he had failed to make Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad for the World Cup.
After an underwhelming maiden season at Old Trafford, where Sancho accumulated just three goals and three assists in 29 appearances, the wideman did catch the eye at the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
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Sancho impressed during the club's pre-season tour of Australia and Thailand and was a standout player during the early weeks of Ten Hag's premiership, netting three goals in eight outings. However, those figures are still nowhere near the sort of returns he racked up at Dortmund, where he registered 38 goals and 51 assists in just 104 league games.
Ten Hag has already hinted that he is eager to introduce Sancho back into the fold - but the Dutchman has also refused to put a timescale on his return in a bid to ease the pressure on the youngster.
Speaking earlier this month, Ten Hag said: "We want to bring him back as quickly as possible, but I can't give a prognosis of when that will be.
"Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. We got a drop of level and sometimes you don't know why or what is causing it. That is what we're doing now to try to get him back there. It's a combination of physical but also mentally."
