Marcus Rashford is expected to make his first appearance for Manchester United since December 2024, but he starts on the bench for this afternoon's pre-season friendly against AC Milan in Wroclaw. The match pits him against Ruben Amorim, the man who froze him out at Old Trafford.
Carrick confirms Rashford's return
Rashford did not feature in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Leeds United in Dublin, with manager Michael Carrick revealing the game came too soon for the forward as well as Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo. However, Carrick has effectively confirmed that all three will get minutes against Milan.
“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,” Carrick said. “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.”
Reunion with Amorim and team news
Rashford has spent time on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona since his last Man United appearance, and coming up against Amorim adds an interesting sub-plot to the friendly. Rashford, Martinez and Mainoo will hope to come off the bench in Poland as their minutes are managed.
Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko remain absent, but Harry Maguire is back in the squad after missing the draw with Leeds. Bruno Fernandes and summer signing Youri Tielemans could start together in midfield for the first time. Matheus Cunha makes his first appearance of pre-season in a front three also featuring Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu.
Lineups and match details
Man Utd XI: Lammens; Mazraoui, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw, Santos, Tielemans, Fernandes, Cunha, Dorgu, Amad. Subs: Heath, Mee, Amass, Dalot, Martinez, Yoro, Collyer, J. Fletcher, T. Fletcher, Mainoo, Gabriel, Lacey, Mbeumo, Rashford, Zirkzee. Injured: Ugarte, Heaton, Mount, Sesko, De Ligt, Darlow.
Kick-off is at 3.45pm BST on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at the Tarczynski Arena Wrocław. The match is available on MUTV.
