Manchester United stars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic train on Rostov’s pitch after Jose Mourinho dubs it ‘unplayable’ during press conference
MANCHESTER UNITED stars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been training on Rostov's pitch ahead of their Europa League clash... after Jose Mourinho called it 'unplayable'.
The Special One claimed the Olimp-2 surface isn't even good enough to be deemed a field as he worried about his players' safety.
Meanwhile, Rostov boss Ivan Daniliants dubbed the pitch a 'problem' and banned his players from training on the surface in order to protect it.
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As per Uefa rules, United were allowed to train in the Russian ground in order to get used to the unfamiliar ground.
Despite all the pre-match drama, Mourinho and his United stars looked in good spirits as they worked on their game in the stadium.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will play in the game according to the Portuguese boss as he is now set to miss three domestic games for elbowing Tyrone Mings on Saturday.
Meanwhile, players such as Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera got down to business on the pitch.
Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw were two notable absentees as Mourinho overlooked the duo for selection for the crunch last-16 game in Russia.
Worryingly for the already under-fire pitch, pigeons were spotted flocking onto the surface, pecking furiously away at the ground.
With the grass already threadbare and patchy, it would seem the birds decided to chow down on some grass seed scattered onto the surface just to add an extra hazard to proceedings.
Mourinho has already voiced his concerns regarding the pitch to Uefa officials, saying: "I told one gentleman from Uefa of my concerns.
"He just told me the players are insured, so what happens to them is no problem."
