Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho hints Wayne Rooney will not start

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hinted that Wayne Rooney may not be brought back into the team in Henrikh Mkhitaryan's absence against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

The Red Devils will be without Mkhitaryan after the Armenian was stretched off with an ankle injury in the final 10 minutes of United's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

Rooney, who is two goals away from beating Sir Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record, has started just six Premier League games this season.

When asked in Monday's press conference if Rooney will come back into the side now that Mkhitaryan is out, Mourinho told reporters: "That's the position where we have lots of players - Rooney, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Memphis Depay. That will not be a problem, to choose a player to play. The problem is that Mkhitaryan was playing so well, but now he's not playing."

United are currently sixth in the Premier League table, six points adrift of fourth place and 13 behind leaders Chelsea.