Jose Mourinho has explained that Bastian Schweinsteiger has returned to Manchester United training in order to boost the numbers and maintain his fitness.
Schweinsteiger returned to first-team training on Monday for the first time this season, having been frozen out by manager Mourinho.
The German had trained __with the youth sides and on his own since the summer after Mourinho’s appointment as successor to Louis van Gaal.
The 34-year-old has still yet to even appear on the bench for a first-team game this season, but has been offered the slightest glints of hope by his boss.
“He will be much better prepared and conditioned in case his future decision [is] to leave the club – he will be prepared to go to competition,” Mourinho explained.
“If he stays __with us he becomes one more option. We made that decision last Thursday and informed him on Friday so he would join the team on Monday.
“It’s a decision based on the fact that we are in a period in the season when it’s really difficult to train with everybody together.
“So the tactical work I like to do with 21 players, 23, 24 max, doesn’t happen because the day after we play the players who played train in a separate group and the group becomes 13 or 14 and with injuries becomes 10 and 11.
“Many times we go to the academy to bring some young boys to have a group with the perfect numbers to train.
“On Friday the players who played here will not train with main group. We have no problems in midfield like we do in defence but if we do he is one more option.
“It’s a decision that can be positive for the group. Good decision for him and for us.”