Mary Earps makes Manchester United return as fallout from her book continues

Marc Skinner welcomes the return of “good person” Mary Earps to Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday.

United’s women play at Old Trafford in the competition for the first time but the main spotlight will be on the figure in Paris St Germain’s goal as the fallout from the release of her autobiography continues.

Earps has found herself in the firing line following criticism of England boss Sarina Wiegman and her successor as the Lionesses’ number one, Hannah Hampton, in the book.

Skinner knows Earps well having managed her at United for three years, and he said: “Me and Mary have always had a good relationship. So I’ll say nothing but good things.

“I’ve not read the book. I don’t know anything about it – I’m hearing snippets, of course I am. I’m always one of those (who thinks) you have to be careful what you say but Mary believes in it. So that’s her truth, she has to speak it.

“From our perspective, we’ll welcome her as somebody that is on the opponents’ team in this game. But also always pay tribute to what she has done when she was at Manchester United.

“I know Mary’s a good person, so I look forward to the challenge of trying to beat her and her team on this Wednesday night.”

Earps also writes in the book about her decision to leave Manchester United last summer at the end of her contract, citing a lack of urgency from Skinner and the club to tie her to a new deal.

“There are moments where she might speak about the urgency, but also the club will have their own view and opinion on that,” added Skinner.

Skinner does not believe the Earps controversy will overshadow the occasion, with United facing a crunch week that also includes a Manchester derby in the Women’s Super League.

Defending champions Arsenal’s preparation for their trip to face Bayern Munich was hit by news defender Katie Reid has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training and will miss the rest of the season.

Teenager Reid is the seventh player this season to have an ACL injury and head coach Renee Slegers said more research was needed before the women’s game can tackle the issue.

Slegers, who confirmed she has no other new injury concerns, told a press conference: “It’s hard because it’s one little moment and then you’re out for nine to 12 months.

“It impacts a player’s career. Everything we can do on a wider scale, so research, understanding, I think that’s where it all starts.

“If we understand more and we need to keep on doing research because the game grows so fast and so many things change, we need to grow with that change, and I think it’s the starting point.”