Why was Kobbie Mainoo left out of Man Utd’s squad versus Aston Villa?

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The 20-year-old picked up a calf niggle in training on Saturday and was not fit to feature

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Kobbie Mainoo was left out of Manchester United’s matchday squad for their Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday amid increasing interest in the midfielder’s future at the club.

Mainoo, who has not started a single league match for United this season, is the subject of rumours about a possible January exit as his relationship with manager Ruben Amorim is under the microscope.

• Follow Aston Villa vs Manchester United live

A lack of gametime for the England international has fuelled speculation that Mainoo’s relationship with Amorim was breaking down and that rumour was furthered by Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Mainoo-Hames, wearing a T-shirt at Old Trafford for Monday’s draw with Bournemouth that read: “Free Kobbie Mainoo”.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Villa, Amorim clarified that Mainoo’s exclusion was due to a calf injury he picked up in training on Saturday. The manager told Sky Sports: “He got an injury in the last training. After training, he went to the doctor. He got something in his calf and we are going to assess but he is out of this game.

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"Of course [it is bad timing], not just for the team but for him to have this problem. These are reminders that we need to focus on everything we can control and leave the rest to the destiny.

"He is going to be fine in the few weeks, I think, I don't know. Let's focus on the players that we have and are ready to play.

The injury comes at an unfortunate time for Mainoo who would have been hoping to capitalise on the absence of Casemiro in midfield as the Brazilian is also sidelined through injury.

Amorim had addressed Mainoo’s lack of gametime during his pre-match press conference where he encouraged the 20-yeard-old to fight for his place and emulate previous Manchester United greats such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

"Kobbie needs to fight for his job," Amorim said, "I think that it's not a bad thing to be on the bench of Manchester United when you are 20 years old.

“I remember Ronaldo was on the bench, Rooney was on the bench sometimes, [Juan Sebastian] Veron was not playing.

"I'm not trying to say to Kobbie, 'you are a big player here, let's put him on the bench to show something'. No, what I'm saying is the opposite. I'm just not putting Kobbie in sometimes, because I understand that this is not the right guy to start the game.

"If he plays well, he is going to show everyone 'this guy cannot take me out of the team', and I will be so happy. I'm just saying that I'm trying to win games and to show to the players that if you do the things right, you will play no matter what the name."

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