Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag gives Jadon Sancho questions short shrift

Jadon Sancho's Manchester United exile is certain to reach the five-week mark after Erik ten Hag declined to discuss the winger's absence from the first team squad.

Sancho has not played for United since he came on in the comeback win against Nottingham Forest on August 26 and he was dropped for the matchday squad at Arsenal eight days later.

Ten Hag said Sancho's omission was due to his training form, which Sancho swiftly disputed in a since-deleted post on Twitter in which he accused Ten Hag of lying.

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United confirmed three weeks ago Sancho would not be considered for selection pending the outcome of a disciplinary issue and he has missed the fixtures against Brighton, Bayern Munich, Burnley, Crystal Palace in the League Cup and Premier League and Galatasaray.

The 23-year-old will also not be available for the visit of Brentford on Saturday. United do not play again until they head to Sheffield United on October 21 - eight weeks on from Sancho's last appearance.

When Ten Hag was asked about Sancho in the open section of his pre-match press conference, he completely ignored the reporter's query. In the embargoed section, he clarified: "Nothing has changed. He (Sancho) isn’t available, so I have no comment on that."

When asked if he had spoken to Sancho, Ten Hag replied: “If he was available, then we would report it.”

In the wake of the Arsenal match on September 3, Sancho wrote: "Please don't believe everything you read. I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons