Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has provided an update on three players who were missing for the pre-season friendly win over Leeds United yesterday.
The Red Devils played out a 1-1 draw against Leeds in Dublin before winning on penalties (5-4).
Carrick picked a starting XI with some regulars on the bench. Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Luke Shaw were among those who featured in the second half.
Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez were notably missing from the squad, having recently reported for the club’s training camp in Ireland.
When pressed on the trio, Carrick highlighted that they were not ready for the contest, but expressed hope that they could feature against AC Milan this weekend.
He told MUTV: “Marcus, Licha and Kobbie only came back a couple of days ago so they’re not quite ready but we can have them for the weekend.
“We trained hard, the boys who came in, Marcus, Kobbie and Licha have trained really hard, and we’ll have a recovery day tomorrow.
“We’ll all recover tomorrow, train Friday and prepare for the game on Saturday [against Milan]. Again, we’ll get the balance right of minutes.”
Man Utd will want to end pre-season on a high
The Red Devils started pre-season with a 1-0 loss to Wrexham before beating Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid. They have since played out draws against Paris Saint-Germain and Leeds, though they won versus the latter on penalties.
United now come face-to-face with former manager Ruben Amorim, who took charge of Milan recently. It may be only pre-season but Amorim is already facing the heat with two draws and a heavy defeat to Chelsea (3-0) last weekend.
The Red Devils face the Rossoneri in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday. Mainoo and Rashford in particular may have a point to prove to Amorim. Mainoo was completely ignored for a starting spot in Amorim’s second season in charge.
The Portuguese tactician played Fernandes in a deeper role alongside Casemiro and regularly benched Mainoo. The United graduate will be eager for a cameo appearance to impress against his former boss.
Similarly, Rashford’s fallout with Amorim contributed to his loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, where he was impressive. He is back in the United mix and will no doubt want to shine with the minimal game time he receives this weekend.
Martinez, on the other hand, is coming off a minor injury during the World Cup final for Argentina against Spain. He may need to be handled with extra caution. We won’t be surprised if the centre-back does not feature against the Rossoneri.
Carrick will surely want a resounding display with a win against Milan. This will be United’s final friendly before the Premier League opener against newly-promoted Hull City on the road on August 22.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
