When Manchester United hosts Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, they will be looking to win the Premier League for the second time in a row.
Having said that, we have identified five key takeaways from the training session on Thursday.
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.
Amad accelerates his recuperation
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For the first time since sustaining a knee injury during the preseason, United first team member Winger Amad was pictured taking part in a training session. Although he has been working on an individual rehabilitation program lately, his attendance on Thursday hints that a return might not be too far off.
When he was seen wearing the red bib, he had a broad smile on his face and seemed happy to be back on the field with his colleagues after spending a long time off the field.
Rashford is grinning.
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Marcus Rashford participated in the training session on Thursday after coming off the bench in the closing minutes of the victory over Chelsea. It was fair that he was benched for the midweek match following a subpar performance against Newcastle.
Now, he has to put in a lot of effort to regain his spot, however it might not be easy to remove Alejandro Garnacho from the left flank. In training, he appeared content, wearing a broad smile.
Mainoo wants to be noticed.
Kobbie Mainoo will be aiming for a recall against Bournemouth after failing to come off the bench against Chelsea. It was the first time he had not played in any role since making his comeback against Everton nearly two weeks prior. However, Ten Hag acknowledged in the days leading up to the match that his level of fitness needed to be closely monitored.
Along with the other players who did not play in midweek, he participated in Thursday’s training session and will undoubtedly be motivated to put in his best effort this weekend in the hopes of being called up.
Murray among the young people trying to attract attention
As usual, Ten Hag brought a number of young players to United’s most recent practise, one of whom being defender Sam Murray, who has not yet made his senior debut. Dan Gore, Hannibal Mejbri, Shola Shoretire, and Maxi Oyedele joined him in the session.
The Reds, who defeated the Cherries in both of their previous seasons, returned to winning ways on Wednesday night when they defeated Chelsea 2-1. After Cole Palmer’s equalizer, Scott McTominay scored twice to move United up to sixth place in the standings.
In November, Ten Hag, Garnacho, and Maguire took a commemorative picture following their outstanding accomplishment.
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.
Players who did not start the game on Wednesday night appeared to be participating in Thursday’s Carrington training session, which took place less than twenty-four hours after the team’s victory over 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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