Kobbie Mainoo's back problem, which caused him to miss England's final World Cup game, is not expected to affect his pre-season preparations with Manchester United.
Mainoo did not play a single minute during England's World Cup campaign, which ended in a semi-final defeat to Argentina. Despite fitness issues for Declan Rice and a broken arm for Jordan Henderson, Mainoo remained on the bench. England later beat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off, with Thomas Tuchel making six changes.
Tuchel revealed Mainoo had suffered a back injury, saying: 'He had a sharp pain in the back within the training and he was not ready to play.'
Pre-season plans unaffected
Mainoo, along with Marcus Rashford, now has a three-week break before returning for pre-season duty with United. According to The Athletic, the injury is the type that typically results in a player missing just one game and is unlikely to impact his pre-season plans.
The 21-year-old is expected to join the squad in Dublin from 10 August, with United facing Leeds United at Croke Park two days later. United have one more pre-season game against AC Milan in Poland on 15 August before starting their Premier League campaign against newly-promoted Hull City on 22 August.
Mainoo's role under Carrick
Mainoo missed the first half of the 2025-26 season after being frozen out by Ruben Amorim but played an instrumental role under Michael Carrick. He started every game he was available for from mid-January onwards, missing only the defeat to Leeds in April through injury. He played the full 90 minutes in all but one of those 16 games.
United midfield changes
United have lost Casemiro since the end of the season, and Manuel Ugarte faces a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury suffered during the World Cup with Uruguay. However, the club has bolstered their midfield options with the signings of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans from Chelsea and Aston Villa, respectively.
