Henrikh Mkhitaryan is set to be recalled by Manchester United

Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan could return for the Red Devils’ clash with Bristol City on Wednesday, Jose Mourinho has confirmed.

The Armenian has been left out of eight of United’s last nine matchday squads after suffering a drop in form in October.

The 28-year-old produced notably poor performances in away matches against Chelsea and Liverpool but he’s said to disagree with Mourinho’s tactics in these matches and fell out with the Portuguese boss when the pair were discussing his recent displays.

Speculation has been rife in the last fortnight that Mkhitaryan could be sold in January but Mourinho has given the playmaker a glimmer of hope by hinting he could return at Ashton Gate.

Mkhitaryan has played just once in the last six weeks (Picture: Getty)

‘He can,’ said Mourinho, when asked if Mkhitaryan can return.

‘I am making a few changes for the match, not many, because Bristol is one of the best teams in the Championship and for me now the Championship is not the Championship of five or 10 years ago

‘The Championship is now high-quality teams with lots of players that could be playing in the Premier League easily. So we need to take the game really seriously. But I am going to make a few changes and it’s possible Mhiki is involved.

‘At the moment we are playing (Juan) Mata, (Marcus) Rashford, (Jesse) Lingard or (Anthony) Martial, (Romelu) Lukaku and the bench has been Ibra and one of the other ones – Martial or Rashford.

‘There is no space for everybody because you need balance on the bench too.’

United beat Southampton 3-2 in last season’s League Cup final to grant Mourinho his first piece of silverware at the club.

The Red Devils trail Manchester City by 11 points in the Premier League, meaning their best chance of silverware is likely to come in the form of cup competitions.

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