Despite having not featured for Manchester United this season, Bastian Schweinsteiger remains a fan favourite at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho has made it abundantly clear that the German has no future at the club, with his last competitive appearance coming during a 1-0 win over rivals Manchester City on March 20.
Such harsh treatment hasn’t damaged Schweinsteiger’s spirits, though. Since being demoted to training with the Under-23s in the summer, the former Bayern Munich ace has continually voiced his support for his teammates and worked hard in the gym.
With a January move in the offing, Schweinsteiger has reportedly been putting in extra hours to ensure he’s at peak fitness when the transfer window opens.
That doesn’t mean to say that he’s being treated any better at United, though – far from it.
According to Manchester Evening News, Jose Mourinho has made yet another attempt to ostracise Schweinsteiger at Old Trafford by scheduling his training sessions later in the day than his teammates.
This is in an apparent attempt to limit contact between the 32-year-old and the senior squad.
As mentioned, Mourinho ordered Schweinsteiger to clear out his first-team locker and report to training with the Under-23s in pre-season, but he’s now taken that ‘privilege’ away.
Schweinsteiger will only hope someone rescues him from his Old Trafford nightmare in January.
“Of course, my absolute dream would be to play for Manchester United and help them reach the goals they have,” he said recently.
“We have had talks and I have no problem with Jose Mourinho. We had a good chat and he told me his side of things and I also know what I want.
“We’ve got to wait and see how things go in September and October, but there is respect between us and that’s important for me. I’m certainly not going to stop playing football.”
It’s not all bad for the German, though, with a United source revealing how he’s been impressing coaches in his individual training sessions, even if there isn’t any hope of him staying.
“We have been very impressed with him,” the source said. “He has managed to get himself much fitter over the last month.
“He has got his head down and really pushed himself and is visibly lighter after getting over his injuries from last season.
“The support staff and some of his team-mates are pleased for him. He hasn’t moaned once and is coming in and worked hard in the gym.
“He is obviously fulfilling his contractual obligations but he appears happy and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he has something lined up in January.”