Jones been suspended by UEFA after verbally abusing a doping official at the Europa League final.
The defender was fuming that he missed a post-match team photo aimed at honouring the victims of May’s bomb attack in Manchester.
He will have to sit out United’s next two European matches – next week’s UEFA Super Cup match against Real Madrid in Skopje and their first Champions League group stage match next month.
And that leaves United, who confirmed the £40m capture of Nemanja Matic from Chelsea yesterday, short of central defensive cover.
Eric Bailly is also banned for those two matches after being sent off in their Europa League semi-final win over Celta Vigo in April.
It means Chris Smalling is likely to partner summer signing Victor Lindelof for the Real Madrid match and the Champions League opener.
Jones’ team-mate Daley Blind has been fined for failing to report quickly enough for a doping test because he wanted to be in the photo too – but escaped a ban.
There is no suggestion that either player was guilty of doping, but both must pay UEFA £4,475, while United have been hit with a separate fine of £8,950. The club have until Thursday to appeal against the punishments.
Blind and Jones were selected at random for testing after United beat Ajax in the Europa League final in Stockholm on May 24.
Jones, an unused substitute in the final, gave blood and urine samples as he was tested, but was angry that he had missed the post-match photo – and verbally abused a doping control officer.
Manchester United’s players posed for a picture holding up a banner that read ‘Manchester – a city United’, as a tribute to those who died in a bomb attack after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena two days before the final.
Blind, who played the full 90 minutes in Stockholm, did appear in the photo after being accompanied by an official – but UEFA said he broke the rules by not reporting straight to the dope testing point when asked.
The punishments were announced as United tied up Matic from Chelsea on an initial three-year deal.
Matic, 28, says he wants to be as big an Old Trafford hero as former United captain Nemanja Vidic, his namesake and fellow Serb.
The centre-back was loved by United fans, who had a special chant that celebrated his no-nonsense style.
And Matic hopes that the Old Trafford faithful will soon be singing his name in the same way.
He said: “Hopefully they can sing the same one. Vidic was a great player. He had a great career. When I came to the international team, he was the captain.
“I will try my best to repeat what he did, I know it will be very hard, but I will try.”
The Serbia midfielder is joining up with Jose Mourinho for the second time, having been signed by the United boss for Chelsea from Benfica for £21m in January 2014.
“Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’m very happy because I am part of this great club, this great group,” Matic added.
“Also, my ambition was to train with Jose. He is a great coach. When I was with him before he always got the best out of me, and I improved with him.”
Matic, who will wear the No.31 shirt, is the Red Devils’ third signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Lindelof from Benfica for £31m, and striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton for £75m.
Mourinho said: “Nemanja is a Manchester United player and a Jose Mourinho player. He represents everything we want in a footballer – loyalty, consistency, ambition, and he is a team player.”
