BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER enjoyed a memorable Manchester United return, wrapping up a comprehensive FA Cup fourth-round win against Wigan on his first start for more than a year.
Few expected to see the 32-year-old in the club's colours again after being frozen out by Jose Mourinho, falling so far down the pecking order that the club even wrote him off as an asset in their accounts.
However, Schweinsteiger has surprisingly returned from the cold and capped his first United start since January 9, 2016, by hooking home the FA Cup holders' final goal of a 4-0 win against Wigan.
Eyebrows were raised at the former Germany captain's inclusion, compounded by the rust visible in the opening stages against Warren Joyce's well-drilled side.
However, Schweinsteiger's fine cross brought with it Marouane Fellaini's opening goal just before half-time, from which a much-changed United returned brightly.
Anthony Martial, given a chance to shine at Old Trafford, set-up Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan goals, before Schweinsteiger brought the biggest cheer of the afternoon by turning home from close range.
Mourinho confirmed that Schweinsteiger will be staying at Manchester United for the remainder of the season but Ashley Young could leave before the January transfer window shuts tomorrow.
The United manager, however, would not get drawn on speculation about Wayne Rooney's future as he spoke to media after his side's comfortable FA Cup fourth-round win over Wigan at Old Trafford.
Rooney, who became United's record goalscorer earlier this month, was the subject of fresh reports linking him with a move to China yesterday morning.
But it was the future of Schweinsteiger, who scored in the 4-0 defeat of the Championship Latics on his first start for more than a year, which was made the clearest.
Mourinho said of the German World Cup-winner: "Yes, he is staying. He is going to (be included on) the Europa League list because we opened spaces with (Memphis) Depay and (Morgan) Schneiderlin (leaving) and we don't have many players, and we don't have many options in midfield.
"Ninety minutes (against Wigan) was probably too hard for him, from minutes 65-70 it was hard for him but now I think he is happy.
"He was a good professional when he was not playing, and after having some minutes he will be the same. With so many competitions and games he will be an option."
Mourinho deflected a question about England captain Rooney in his post-match press conference by speaking about former England international Young.
He said: "The only player that I am aware of a possibility to leave, and I am waiting for January 31 to know what is going on, is Ashley Young, a player I would love to keep.
"I am not happy if he leaves, but he is the only player that I am informed has a possibility of leaving. That is why he didn't play and I gave chances to other people, because I don't know if he is going to stay.
"If I could choose, definitely yes he would stay with us."
That answer may not quell speculation concerning Rooney, particularly with the Chinese transfer deadline not until the end of February and not Tuesday, as is the case domestically.
United laboured through the first half against Wigan but the result did not seem in doubt after Marouane Fellaini headed them ahead after 44 minutes. Chris Smalling, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Schweinsteiger made the result safe after the break.
With the EFL Cup final next month and the Europa League also due to resume, Mourinho was concerned about fixture congestion.
He said: "We are going to have a very difficult season compared with other clubs. Liverpool will play 16 matches until the end of the season, Chelsea will play 16 plus some in the FA Cup and we are in this really crazy situation.
"Southampton will have 15 days without football before the final. We are going to play two matches against St Etienne and the next round of the FA Cup, so the calendar in the best country of world football is nonsense."
As for his side's performance, he said: "The first half was not good enough but the second half was different, much more intense in the passing and movement."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here