Roy Keane defends Manchester United stars after Gary Neville's 'unprofessional' claim

Roy Keane has come to the defence of Manchester United stars Marcus Rashford and Casemiro after Gary Neville questioned the duo's professionalism for going to America during the international break.

Both United players jetted off to the USA last week, with Rashford taking an NBA game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden, while Casemiro was in Orlando with his family at Disney World. Both players missed new manager Ruben Amorim's first session as head coach as a result of their trips.

On the latest episode of Stick to Football brough to you by Sky Bet, Neville took aim at the pair for jetting off stateside with United languishing in 13th after a torrid start to the season.

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“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 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 jetlag 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, your 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."

Surprisingly, Keane came to the defence of both players and believes that neither Casemiro nor Rashford feel that heading to America is that big of a deal.

"For [Marcus] Rashford and all these lads, going to the United States and going on private jets, whatever they are doing – like basketball, that’s the norm for them.

"We’re sitting there and going, ‘all the way to the States?’ They [players] would think the States is no big deal. We might consider the long flights and the jet lag, but that is their norm. If they were sitting here, they would say, ‘What are you talking about? This is my life and it’s what I do.'"

*Roy Keane was speaking on Sky Bet's Stick to Football.

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