Erik ten Hag has exiled second Manchester United player after brutal press conference message

Anthony Martial has been told to train individually and away from Manchester United’s squad until his fitness improves enough for Erik ten Hag to consider picking him again.

That is according to information from MailOnline following Erik ten Hag’s recent brutal comments on the centre-forward in a recent press conference.

Martial, 28, has been unavailable since the beginning of December and hasn’t trained with his teammates since catching a sickness bug before United’s defeat against Bournemouth on 9 December.

However, the MailOnline report states that Martial is now unavailable as he has yet to regain sufficient fitness following his illness last month.

Ten Hag stated last week: “He’s not fit. We want the players to be fit, and at this moment, he is not.

“We have to make him fit, and it is his job as well to get ready for the next game. But at this moment, he is having medical treatment, and he has to recover.”

Now, individually training away from the team, Martial is the second player to do so after Jadon Sancho was moved away from the first-team squad earlier this season.

The 23-year-old has since moved on loan to Borussia Dortmund and assisted on his second-debut for the German club.

However, Ten Hag’s decision for Martial to train on his own is not a disciplinary matter but instead reflects his belief that individual training for players lacking match fitness is a good move.

Sancho was instead exiled from the first-team squad due to a public disagreement with Ten Hag and his refusal to apologise

Martial is currently not deemed to be fit enough to work with the first-team squad, given the intensity and work rate the manager demands from his players in training.

The Frenchman has six months left on his contract at Old Trafford and is likely to be leaving at the end of the season on a free transfer.