Ruben Amorim's reaction after Manchester United players backed a member of the five-man 'bomb squad' to be reintegrated into first team training has emerged.

Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, five players – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia – were forced to train away from the first team squad after being told they had no future.

In the coming weeks, Rashford secured a season-long loan move to Barcelona, while Sancho, Antony and Garnacho had to wait until the final days of the window to complete moves to Aston Villa, Real Betis and Chelsea respectively.

Malacia, meanwhile, was the only player to remain at Old Trafford after a loan to Spanish side Elche fell through.

The injury-plagued full-back, who spent more than a year on the sidelines with a serious knee injury, has returned to the fold of late. In fact, he was included in United's squad for their Premier League clash against Brighton last month.

Malacia pictured in first-team training last month. Image credit: Getty

After being named in a matchday squad for the first time since January, Malacia was praised by Ruben Amorim.

"I love all my players," he told MUTV. "I demand the same thing from all the players. He (Malacia) is working really well, he adapted really well to our team. For me, there are no favourites."

Amorim added: "If you work, you play for Manchester United. If you don’t, you need to work harder to get back on the pitch."

Malacia was part of United's five-man 'bomb squad' in the summer. Image credit: Getty

Now, it has emerged that Malacia's reintegration into first-team training was backed by United players, who 'spoke in favour' of the Dutchman, according to a report from The Athletic.

Amorim is said to have taken the feedback on board.

Antony reveals what life was like in Man Utd's ‘bomb squad’

The Brazilian winger, who joined Real Betis in the summer for a reported £21.7 million, recently opened up on his experience at United, where he felt "disrespected" by the club and was forced to live in a hotel.

“They were very tough months in England, more than 40 days in the hotel, training separately. I feel like they disrespected me, but that’s not the point,” Antony told Onda Cero, as per Sport Witness.

“I don’t want to create controversy; that’s life. I’m very grateful for the club; there were bad times, but also good times, with two titles. My family travelled to Seville four or five days before the deal was finalised; I had the house rented.”