Ruben Amorim addresses the absence of Andre Onana from the Manchester United roster for the match against Newcastle.

Ruben Amorim addresses the absence of Andre Onana from the Manchester United roster for the match against Newcastle.

Ruben Amorim, the head coach of Manchester United, has stated that Andre Onana requires time to “disconnect” following his exclusion from the matchday squad for this afternoon’s match against Newcastle United.

This morning, the Manchester Evening News reported that Onana had not accompanied his compatriots to St James’ Park. It is believed that Amorim had made the decision to remove him from the firing line. The Cameroonian was the subject of much scrutiny following the 2-2 draw with Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday night, as he made two costly errors.

He was responsible for enabling Rayan Cherki to score a dramatic equaliser and deny United a first leg victory by failing to hold onto Georges Mikautadze’s shot in the last minute of injury time. Onana, who has been replaced by Altay Bayindir in goal, may return to the pitch for the second leg of the quarter-final against the French team at Old Trafford on Thursday night. Amorim elucidated the rationale behind his decision to alter the custodian in an interview with Sky Sports,

stating, “At times, it is necessary to encourage the player to resume play, while at other times, it is necessary to allow him to detach a bit.””I believed that it was a suitable moment for Andre to disconnect, as he will be in training to prepare for the upcoming event tomorrow.” In a separate interview with MUTV,

Amorim explained his decision to grant Harry Amass a full debut, stating, “I believe he is making the right decisions.” He is progressing quite well in his training. “And then, when you encounter situations that necessitate rotating certain players, they are entitled to the opportunity, but they must demonstrate it.”