Bastian Schweinsteiger's exile from Manchester United's first team appears to be dissipating.
The German midfielder played in his first match of the season earlier this week, getting a few minutes of run against West Ham in the EFL Cup quarterfinals. Schweinsteiger made the most of his time, sending a nice pass to set up Zlatan Ibrahimovic's second goal.
This has led Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho to say that Schweinsteiger might not be so exiled after all.
This is what Mourinho had to say about Schweinsteiger, per the Telegraph:
“Everybody was happy [when he came on against West Ham] because when he was not training with the team he did it in a professional way,” Mourinho said. “When he was training with the team he struggled a bit at first but managed to do it without injuries and the need to stop so he was working continually for a month so I thought it’d help for him to play a bit.
“He’s another one who can help us. During the season you have injuries and suspensions. [Paul] Pogba and [Marouane] Fellaini] were both suspended in that match against West Ham and he [Schweinsteiger] was ready.
“Of course it was 3-1 and he came on for 10 mins but if needed him before he was ready. His future is about this, he’s another in the squad. Of course he can [stay].
OF COURSE HE CAN STAY.
Now, Mourinho could be putting up a front, praising a player just because it's clearly the correct PR move to do so. Then again, Jose Mourinho has never been one to watch his tongue when speaking to the media.
We're taking this as Schweinsteiger is slowly working his way back into the side, and we will not hear any arguments against it, especially the argument that Marouane Fellaini is better. Marouane Fellaini is bad.
Soon enough, Schweinsteiger will take his rightful place at the base of Manchester United's Midfield, allowing the likes of Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to go do what they do.
Of course, if that happens Manchester United will improve, and is that really what anyone wants?
