Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho admits that he remains unclear about his team selection for their Europa League clash against Rostov on Thursday.

The Red Devils landed in Russia on Tuesday evening ahead of their first-leg Europa League Round of 16 encounter against the Russian Premier League side.

The manager personally inspected the playing surface on Wednesday morning, before holding his pre-match press conference, which he duly used to discuss his concern for the players’ safety.

The Portuguese manager says he has not made his team selection, due to the conditions of the pitch at the Olimp-2 Stadium in Russia, and he is still contemplating including Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the squad.

‘It’s still hard for me to believe that we are going to play tomorrow. I know we have to, but it’s hard for me to believe we are going to play on that field, if you can call it a field,’ Mourinho told the Manchester United website.

‘I don’t know which team to play, really. I don’t know which team I will play, I don’t know if Mkhitaryan is going to play. I have a lot to think, because I was expecting something more playable.

‘I didn’t have any contact with anyone until now; I just had a quick contact with one gentleman from UEFA when I was looking at the pitch. And when I told him about my concerns, the gentleman told me the plays are insured – if something happens, no problem.’

Manchester United will now travel to the Olimp-2 Stadium when they take on Rostov in the Europa League on Thursday.

Kick-off has been set for 20:00.

Manchester United squad travelling in full:

Goalkeepers: 

David De Gea, Sergio Romero, Kieran O’Hara.

Defenders: 

Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Marcus Rojo, Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian.

Midfielders:

Ashley Young, Micheal Carrick, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Strikers:

Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.