Harry Maguire has expressed his joy as Bruno Fernandes returned to Carrington to begin his pre-season preparations. The Manchester United captain was among four first-team players to report back for training this week, joining Noussair Mazraoui, Diogo Dalot, and Matheus Cunha.
Four returnees boost United squad
The Reds initially returned to training at the start of July with a depleted group, as many first-team stars enjoyed an extended break following their World Cup campaigns. In recent days, the squad has been strengthened, with Amad, Altay Bayindir, Youri Tielemans, and Senne Lammens arriving last week.
This week, the quartet of Mazraoui, Dalot, Cunha, and Fernandes began their training regimes in Manchester. Pictures released by the club show them working in the gym and on the pitch at Carrington.
Social media reactions
After the session, Maguire took to Instagram to share a photo of himself embracing Fernandes, captioning it: "He's back." The attacking midfielder reposted the story, replying: "Big man," with a muscle emoji. Cunha also shared training pictures with the caption: "Can't wait." The Brazil international had a mixed World Cup, performing well in the group stages but being substituted early in a 2-1 defeat to Norway in the round of 16.
Others impressing in pre-season
Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo, who have been at Carrington since the start of pre-season, shared an image of themselves joking during a running drill. Both have impressed so far this summer, with Mount enjoying a deeper role and Mbeumo scoring twice against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
Upcoming fixtures and returns
This weekend, United face Paris-Saint Germain in Gothenburg, Sweden. Following that, they travel to Ireland for a training camp ahead of a clash with Leeds in Dublin next Wednesday. At the start of next week, the final three players will return: Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, who reached the semi-finals with England, and Lisandro Martinez, who represented Argentina in the final. Martinez and Mainoo were injury concerns after the World Cup but are expected to be fit.
