Manchester United's difficult evening in Rotterdam was almost made worse as Chris Smalling nearly missed the flight home after struggling to produce a sample at doping control.Jose Mourinho's side suffered a 1-0 defeat in Thursday's Europa League opener against Feyenoord, with Tonny Vilhena striking a late winner at De Kuip.As if a second successive defeat for United was not enough, the result was nearly compounded by Smalling missing the team flight back to Manchester.The stand-in captain was selected along with midfielder Ander Herrera for routine testing by anti-doping officers.However, having spoken to MUTV, the defender struggled to produce a sample - common due to post-match dehydration - and was close to falling foul of United's tight schedule.Smalling's car was eventually rushed to the airport with a police escort, just making it in time to return with the rest of the squad on Thursday evening.The officer that helped pave the way for the defender posted a photo on Twitter (@RE_Klipsteen) of his bike next to the plane, saying: "End of service. 1 player of MU in the nick (of time) put on the plane. Could not urinate at the doping control."United return to action on Sunday lunchtime at Watford looking to avoid a third successive defeat in all competitions.
Source: PA