He would have preferred to have been at Wembley Stadium as <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/euro-2020-raheem-sterling-shines-for-england-antoine-griezmann-inspires-france-cristiano-ronaldo-draws-blank-on-portugal-return-1.840318">England were thrashing the Czech Republic</a> 5-0 in their first Euro 2020 qualifier, but Jesse Lingard has been far from sitting around sulking. The Manchester United attacker has been in Dubai this week to work on his fitness having been out with a hamstring problem in recent weeks. And after a few days of hard graft, he treated himself to a meal at Salt Bae's Nusr-Et steakhouse at the Four Seasons resort, and filmed the occasion for his six million Instagram followers. The restaurant has been the go-to eaterie for the world's top footballers, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Lionel Messi and Romelu Lukaku dining there in the past year. Lingard started Manchester United's last match - the 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup - but didn't join the England squad as his fitness was deemed to be lacking for the international double-header. Instead he has been at the Nad Al Sheba complex doing shuttle runs, lifting weights and making the most of the facilities which are regularly visited by Premier League clubs looking to benefit from the warmer climate. Meanwhile, Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy has also been in the UAE as he aims to return to full fitness after a knee injury. The French left-back visited the Transform Altitude Performance Center in Dubai, which was graced by teammate David Silva earlier in the week. Mendy also visited another well-trodden destination among footballers - Saif Belhasa's private zoo which features a range of exotic animals. Mendy, who has been staying at the Bulgari Resort, also visited the Shaikha Latifa Bin Mana Al Maktoum mosque and Dubai Mall. Injuries have restricted him to just 13 Premier League starts since signing from Monaco for £52 million in July 2017. City are next in action against Fulham on Saturday, March 30, while United are at home to Watford on the same day. <strong>______________</strong>
