Michael Carrick has taken charge of Manchester United first-team training with just seven senior players available, as the club delays an announcement on his future as manager.
Carrick was present at Carrington on Tuesday morning, despite widespread reports overnight that he was set to depart. Instead, BBC Sport reported that a meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday in Monaco involving owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and executives Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox.
Limited Squad at Carrington
Several first-team players are away on international duty, leaving Carrick with a reduced group. Karl Darlow, Dermot Mee, Senne Lammens, Youri Tielemans, Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes, Leny Yoro, Andrey Santos, Lisandro Martinez, Amad, Noussair Mazraoui and Bryan Mbeumo are all in action over the next fortnight, featuring in Nations League matches, Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and friendlies.
Youngsters Harry Amass, Ayden Heaven and Shea Lacey have been named in the England U20s squad for matches against the Czech Republic and Portugal, while Tyler Fletcher has earned a Scotland U21 call-up.
Injured Players Stay Behind
The injured group of Manuel Ugarte, Marcus Rashford, Benjamin Sesko, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Carlos Baleba have all remained behind for treatment.
This leaves Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt, Patrick Dorgu, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo, Matheus Cunha and Joshua Zirkzee as the seven senior players available to work with Carrick in training.
Carrick Speaks on Plans
Speaking before the 4-4 draw against Aston Villa, Carrick said of his plans for the international break: “No, no. Just carry on as absolute normal. Maybe three or four senior players will be in and around [the training ground], but we’ll certainly train next week and maybe have the weekend off. We’ll see how that develops, who’s left behind, who’s with us and what they need. But there’ll certainly be training next week.”
United’s first game back after the international break is away at Liverpool, before a return to the Champions League with a trip to Sporting on matchday five of this season’s league phase.
