Gary Neville apologises after branding Marcus Rashford and Casemiro ‘unprofessional’ over USA jet-setting during the international break

Gary Neville has apologised after criticising Manchester United stars Marcus Rashford and Casemiro for travelling to the USA during the international break.

With United languishing in the bottom half of the table following their worst-ever start to a Premier League season Erik ten Hag was sacked after more than two years at the helm last month.

Ruud van Nistelrooy briefly took interim charge before United appointed Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim as their new head coach.

With the 39-year-old set to assume his responsibilities after the international break, some United stars took the opportunity to relax in their time off.

Rashford and Casemiro came under criticism from Neville after travelling stateside, with Rashford pictured watching an NBA game between New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden last Friday.

Meanwhile, Casemiro travelled to Orlando over the international break and posted photos of him and his family at Disney World and attended a Orlando Magic game.

Rashford was pictured courtside attending an NBA game at Madison Square Garden in New York

Meanwhile, Casemiro shared photos of his family enjoying a holiday in the US including a visit to watch the Orlando Magic

‘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,’ Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.

‘He 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 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 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.’

However, in an interview with Amorim Neville appeared to walk back some of his comments after realising the pair had actually travelled to New York rather than Oregon.

‘I made a comment this week about Casemiro and Marcus Rashford travelling to America in their few days off’ Neville said. 

‘It was just me thinking as a Manchester United player when I played here. 

But in a recent interview with Ruben Amorim Neville admitted he had been mistaken in a part of his criticism

‘You’ve got a few days off, the club are 13th in the league, the manager has just been sacked, it’s a challenging part of the season and the new manager is about to come in.

‘And that focus and preparation and every single little detail is really important, and I said I don’t think I’d have chosen that trip to go to America with the time difference. I did get it wrong – they went to New York rather than Portland so I apologise for that. 

‘But there’s still a 5-6 hour time difference, they’re on planes, Casemiro’s 30 years of age.’

Amorim will look to kickstart his reign at the club with a victory when United travel to Portman Road on Sunday to take on Ipswich.