Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal welcomes Phil Jones' England call-up

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal hopes defender Phil Jones will get some much-needed minutes under his belt with England as he plots his return to full match fitness.

Jones made his first appearance for United this season a fortnight ago, coming off the bench in their 3-0 Capital One Cup victory over Ipswich having been ruled out of their opening games with "mild thrombosis".

The 23-year old has since been called into Roy Hodgson's England squad for the European qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania on Friday and Monday respectively.

And Van Gaal believes Jones' recovery will benefit from the additional game time on offer with the Three Lions. He told the club's official website: "I think it's always an honour to play for your country.

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"And, in our build-up of his condition in the games, he needs match rhythm.

"I shall be very pleased when he plays for England because that helps him to get minutes for Manchester United. That's important."

"I shall be very pleased when Jones plays for England because that helps him to get minutes for Manchester United. That's important."

The former Blackburn Rovers defender said he hoped to feature for England, who have already qualified for the tournament in France next year, but felt building up his fitness was his primary concern at the moment.

"Playing for England is a huge honour and I want to be part of the squad and part of the Euros, but I know I have to maintain a good level of form and fitness for United to be able to do that," Jones said.

"That's my short-term focus."