Manchester United will be going in search of a second successive Premier League win when they welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
With that said, we has picked out five things that we spotted from Thursday’s training session.
Rashford sports a smile
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After stepping off the bench in the latter stages of the win over Chelsea, Marcus Rashford featured in Thursday’s training session. After a poor showing against Newcastle, he was justifiably dropped for the midweek encounter.
He must now work hard to win his place back, though dislodging Alejandro Garnacho from the left-wing could be difficult. He seemed to be happy in training, donning a huge smile.
Amad steps up his recovery
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Winger Amad was photographed participating in a United first-team training session for the first time since suffering a knee injury in pre-season. He has been working on an individual rehabilitation programme in recent months, but his participation in Thursday’s session suggests a return may not be too far away.
Pictured in the red bib, he was donning a huge smile, appearing as though he was delighted to be back on the grass and among his teammates after a lengthy period on the sidelines.
Varane eases injury fears
Raphael Varane’s name was missing from the team sheet on Wednesday night, and United claimed that he missed the match against Chelsea due to a “sore back.” Even though he hasn’t been in Ten Hag’s first-choice starting lineup lately, he has been a consistent reserve, so there were some eyebrows raised by his midweek absence.
Man United, though, stated that he was sidelined due to a back problem. He did, however, practice on Thursday and is expecting to be considered for the match against Bournemouth.
Mainoo aims to impress
After failing to make it off the bench against Chelsea, Kobbie Mainoo will be targeting a recall against Bournemouth. It was the first time since making his return against Everton almost a fortnight ago that he had not featured in any capacity, though Ten Hag did admit in the build-up to the game that his fitness levels needed to be managed carefully.
He took part in Thursday’s training session with the rest of the players that played no part in midweek and will have no doubt been determined to leave his calling card in pursuit of a recall this weekend.
Murray among youngsters aiming to catch the eye
As ever, Ten Hag included a cluster of youngsters in United’s latest training session, including defender Sam Murray, who is yet to make his senior debut for the club. He was joined participating in the session by Maxi Oyedele, Dan Gore, Shola Shoretire and Hannibal Mejbri.
The Reds, who did the double over the Cherries last season, got back to winning ways on Wednesday night with a 2-1 triumph over Chelsea. Scott McTominay scored either side of a Cole Palmer equaliser to lift United up to sixth in the table.
Ten Hag, Garnacho and Maguire took a commemorative photo after their great achievement in November
Ten Hag is excited about his team’s chances of finishing in the top four. If United beat Bournemouth, they would draw even with Manchester City, who play this Sunday. This suggests that the Reds are facing pressure to win games in a row.
Thursday’s Carrington training session appeared to be quite light, with players who did not start the game on Wednesday night taking part less than twenty-four hours after the victory against Chelsea. It meant that only those who got off the bench or didn’t participate at all could claim to have participated.
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