Manchester United vs. Zorya Luhansk: Jose Mourinho's Pre-Match Presser Comments

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will not play Wayne Rooney in Thursday's UEFA Europa League match against Zorya Luhansk unless he's fully fit and capable of producing the kind of performance that won't result in even more criticism. 

Per Hamish MacKay of the Daily Mirror, Mourinho originally planned on starting the England international:

"

I was completely convinced of playing him tomorrow.

I’m not sure if I do that because with the situation that you create to him I think he really can’t afford to have a performance that is not really good and I am here to protect him and have to analyse the best thing for him.

If he is not totally ready for it, I will discuss that with the medical staff.

"

United cruised to a 4-1 win in their last Premier League match against defending champions Leicester City without Rooney, who has not been in great form to start the 2016-17 campaign.

He wasn't on the pitch for United's first Europa League match in Rotterdam, where the Red Devils suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Feyenoord.

Zorya also produced a surprise result, holding Fenerbahce to a 1-1 draw in Ukraine, meaning United sit in last place in their group.

ANTHONY DEVLIN/Getty Images

Zorya are relative minnows of Ukrainian football, but they have been in fine form of late. They haven't lost since August and have won their last two domestic matches, including away at Dynamo Kiev.

Mourinho will not underestimate his opponents, confirming Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start and Anthony Martial is also ready to feature, per the club's official Twitter account:

Per Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News, Ibrahimovic isn't the only key player who can expect to play:

Following the loss against Feyenoord, United can't afford to suffer a second disappointing setback. 

Per the club's official Twitter account, Mourinho talked about the importance of Thursday's match:

One key player who won't be playing is Henrikh Mkhitaryan, even though the Armenian has been training with his team-mates, per Dawson:

Luke Shaw did not train with the group on Wednesday, but he was suffering from illness, rather than injury, as shared by ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery:

According to MacKay, Mourinho did not appear in a good mood ahead of Thursday's clash. He asked reporters why they didn't pose questions about Marcus Rashford's great form and instead focused on Martial, before weighing in on the controversy surrounding former England manager Sam Allardyce.

As reported by BBC Sport's Matthew Henry and Michael Emons, Allardyce left his job by mutual consent after the Telegraph uncovered a corruption scandal involving the 61-year-old, and Mourinho felt bad for the former Sunderland manager, per MacKay: “I like Sam. I feel sorry for him. I know it was his dream job. I like him and respect him. What happened is not going to interfere in any way with my relationship with him. It is between him and FA.”

The Red Devils will play host to Zorya at Old Trafford on Thursday, with kick-off scheduled at 8:05 p.m. BST.