Manchester United tell players to avoid the outdoors during trip to freezing Astana

Marcus Rashford

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad are heading to Astana on Europa League duty, but the city is experiencing severe cold weather conditions.

Temperatures could get as low as -20 degrees Celsius at the time of the Group L encounter, and ESPN FC reports that club officials have taken action to ensure the squad aren’t put at risk.

Members of the United squad are said to have been told not to step foot outside for more than 10 minutes during their time off.

The game itself will be played under a closed roof and on an artificial pitch next Thursday at the Astana Arena, a stadium that holds 30,000 people.

United are already assured of progress to the knockout stages after winning three of their opening four Europa League fixtures.

They currently top Group L on 10 points, but are just two points ahead of second-placed AZ Alkmaar with two rounds of action remaining.

Astana, meanwhile, have lost every game and prop up the table with zero points and a minus 13 goal difference.

Solskjaer’s side face a gruelling fixture schedule after the international break, and their trip to Kazakhstan will be a 7,000 mile round journey.

Either side of their European game are two Premier League fixtures, a trip to Sheffield United this Sunday and the visit of Aston Villa the following Sunday.

United then take on Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur in a midweek league clash before facing rivals Manchester City away on 7 December.

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.