MANCHESTER, England -- Marouane Fellaini is set to return to the Manchester United team soon but Jose Mourinho has admitted he still does not know if the midfielder will stay at the club beyond the summer.
The Belgian is out of contract at the end of the season and has so far failed to agree terms on a new deal.
"Is he going to stay or leave? I don't know," Mourinho told a news conference on Friday. "I want him to stay, the club want him to stay, the process, negotiations, numbers, distances between the offer and what he wants, I really don't know."
Fellaini has missed the last five games after undergoing knee surgery last month. However, Mourinho expects the 30-year-old to return in "a couple of weeks" in time for a possible Champions League quarterfinal in the first week of April should United get past Sevilla in the round-of-16.
The United manager added: "He's still a young player, his injury he had a little surgery but minor surgery and he will be back to play again in a couple of weeks. If we proceed in the Champions League after Sevilla I think he will be ready for a hypothetical quarterfinal, a hypothetical FA Cup semifinal, and for the last couple of months of our Premier League fight."
Fellaini will miss Monday night's trip to Crystal Palace, while Mourinho has also confirmed that Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind remain sidelined.