Gabriel to miss Man Utd's PL2 game

JJ Gabriel will not be involved in Manchester United's Premier League 2 encounter with Brentford at Leigh Sports Village on Friday evening.

The 15-year-old has scored in both of United's matches in the competition this season. He marked his debut at that level by lifting the ball over the Ipswich goalkeeper from 20 yards on 24 August, before brilliantly turning inside the penalty area, beating a man, and applying the finish in a 4-1 win over Leicester seven days later.

It was those goals that fuelled a belief Gabriel would be involved in United's opening Champions League game against Azerbaijan champions Sabah. Michael Carrick had been present in person for the first and senior United coaching staff were at the second.

As it turned out, Gabriel was not placed on the A list of players for the competition, which was the only way someone under 16 could feature. United won the game 4-0 and Carrick used all five substitutes by 72 minutes.

This chain of events is understood to have been one of the major triggers for Gabriel to take the course of action he has, although there had been issues before that.

The forward is no longer training at the club and, while United sources believe the situation can be resolved, sources close to Gabriel have a different view and do not believe he will play for the club again.

Gabriel's precise whereabouts are unknown, and it is thought unlikely he will be chosen in any of England's age group teams when they are revealed on Friday.