Harry Maguire was granted permission by Erik ten Hag to “clear his head” away from his Manchester United teammates this week.
Ten Hag felt “exceptional circumstances” meant Maguire should spend time in a Portuguese golf resort while United struggled to a 3-2 win over Omonia in the Europa League.
The Dutch boss has previously insisted on injured players remaining a the Carrington training ground but granted Maguire permission to go abroad.
A source told The Sun: “Erik has high standards for everyone to abide by. He expects all injured players to remain with the group.
“He believes they should function as one unit – injured or not.
“But in Harry’s case he felt there were exceptional circumstances. He wanted him to have a mental break from the pressure he’s under.
“He went away with his family and Erik hopes that will put him in a better place to recover from injury and rediscover his form.”
Maguire has been usurped in the United first team by Lisandro Martinez this season having been criticised for his performances for club and country.
And after Maguire’s poor display for England in the 3-3 draw with Germany, Ten Hag insisted: “I have to back him but I back him because I believe in him.
“I can see the qualities and even after he wasn’t in the team he trained really well and, more importantly, the quality was really there.
“You see his career, almost 50 caps for England, for Leicester and Man United – he’s performing really well, what you see is high potential.
“And then it’s about him. The players in the dressing room, the coaches, the manager believe in him.
“That’s what I told him, I’m sure he can do it and he will turn it around, I’m convinced of that.”
A United spokesman said: “Harry was given permission to travel to Portugal to continue his rehabilitation while the rest of the squad was in Cyprus, allowing him to benefit from the same warm weather conditions.
“Harry was accompanied by a MU physio and has been working hard on his recovery.
“He is due back at Carrington on Sunday.”
READ MORE: ‘Concentrate on your own f***ing game’ – Ten Hag prods Man Utd stars into dressing room fights
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