Not another Jadon Sancho situation! Man Utd deny Anthony Martial has been exiled from first-team training as unspecified illness absence drags on

Martial has been absent from the United squad since mid-December as he has been sidelined by an unspecified illness. A recent report from the Daily Mail claims that Erik ten Hag has ruled that the Frenchman is not fit enough to train with the rest of his team-mates, resulting in the forward being kept away from the first-team group.

However, GOAL understands that Martial's individiual programme is standard practice at the club for players when they return following a spell of absence from the team. The likes of Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Mason Mount also went through spells of training on their own to get them up to speed before returning to regular training. The Frenchman's situation is different to that of Jadon Sancho, who found himself exiled from the first team before he joined Borussia Dortmund this month.

Martial had featured regularly for United until he came down with an illness. He had played 13 times in the Premier League, last making an outing against Bournemouth on December 9, but only five of those appearances were from the start. He has scored one league goal - in the 3-0 win against Everton in November.

Martial had been linked with a move away from Old Trafford but recent reports suggest he would rather stay for the remainder of the season, having rejected offers from Marseille, Fenerbahce and clubs in Saudi Arabia. The centre-forward's contract expires in the summer, though his deal includes an option to extend for a further year.