ESPN: Henrikh Mkhitaryan battling to save his Manchester United career

Armenian national team player Henrikh Mkhitaryan is battling to save his Manchester United career after being dropped by Jose Mourinho following a row between the two men during a video analysis session at the club's Carrington training ground last month, sources have told ESPN FC.

Mkhitaryan, 28, has been absent from seven of United's last eight matchday squads and sources at Old Trafford have confirmed that the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder angered Mourinho by disagreeing with the manager's assessment of his contribution during a substitute appearance against Brighton on Nov. 25.

Mourinho was unhappy with Mkhitaryan's defensive work rate and a mistake made by the player, singling the Armenian international out for criticism in front of the rest of the first-team squad.

Mkhitaryan responded to his manager's remarks, with the player continuing to debate Mourinho's assessment of his performance in the corridor outside the analysis suite at Carrington.

Mourinho was unhappy with Mkhitaryan's contribution against United's top-six rivals, but the player appeared to have overcome his manager's reservations by making an impressive start to the season with two goals and five assists in all competitions.

However, Mourinho was unimpressed by Mkhitaryan's performance against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the beginning of November and has not selected him to start since.

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