Gary Neville has questioned the professionalism of Manchester United duo Casemiro and Marcus Rashford over their trips to the United States during the international break.
Rashford was in attendance at Madison Square Garden in New York on Monday night for an NBA match between New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
The forward was pictured courtside with friends before he posed and signed shirts with Knicks star Jalen Brunson, while midfielder Casemiro flew to Orlando for a family holiday to Disney World, as seen on his Instagram.
Neville has raised question marks over the choice of destination from the pair, both overlooked for call-ups by their national teams, ahead of new head coach Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge at Ipswich on Sunday – live on Sky Sports.
On the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, the Sky Sports pundit said: “The professionalism, looking after your body and making sure you’re best prepared for the next training session is critical to every decision you make during the season.
“He [Marcus Rashford] has got a mental break, he’s got to get away and has got to rest with friends – then you talk about the choice of venue, how far do you fly, what’s the time difference, is that going to give a jet lag issue, is that going to give a stiffness issue from being on a flight for 12 hours?
“This is on Casemiro more than Rashford but if I’m [over] 30 years old and I’m looking after my body – and he’s won five Champions Leagues and is an unbelievable player, but if he was away with Brazil for 10 days, we would say he would struggle this weekend because he’s been away.
“They [Casemiro and Marcus Rashford] have chosen that international break. If you are talking about the minor details in being as professional as you can be and as prepared you can be for a training session on a Monday night, that isn’t the best choice of venue.
“I’m not that wound up about [Marcus] Rashford and Casemiro going over to the United States but what I’m asking is, if you’ve got a four-day break, Portland is a 12-hour flight and an eight-hour time difference, your jet lag is bad, and you feel a bit [rough].
“They went to Portland and I’m asking the question based on professionalism – you’re playing badly, the team are losing, you’re 13th in the league, and there is a new manager coming in – would you choose that trip as a break to recharge your batteries? That’s not a recharging trip. It’s not right that.”
Neville has since apologised for naming the incorrect location, saying Portland instead of New York.
Amorim took charge of his first Manchester United training session this week following his arrival as new head coach, with the club releasing a seven-minute video on Monday showing both him and the players at Carrington.
The Portuguese starts his reign as boss with a trip to Ipswich in the Premier League on Sunday.
Amorim’s upcoming Man Utd fixtures
Ipswich Town (A) – Premier League – November 24, live on Sky Sports
Bodo/Glimt (H) – UEFA Europa League – November 28
Everton (H) – Premier League – December 1
Arsenal (A) – Premier League – December 4
Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League – December 7, live on Sky Sports
Viktoria Plzen (A) – UEFA Europa League – December 12
Manchester City (A) – Premier League – December 15, live on Sky Sports
Tottenham (A) – Carabao Cup – December 19, live on Sky Sports
Bournemouth (H) – Premier League – December 22
Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) – Premier League – December 26
Newcastle United (H) – Premier League – December 30, live on Sky Sports