Six Man United players in doubt as Carrick prepares for Champions League opener against Sabah

Manchester United host Sabah at Old Trafford on Thursday evening in their Champions League league-phase opener, with manager Michael Carrick facing a significant injury headache ahead of the fixture against the Azerbaijani club.

Carrick oversaw a training session on Wednesday that offered clues about his available options — and several notable absences. Amad remains sidelined with a muscle injury sustained in pre-season training and did not take part, with no clear return date yet confirmed.

Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw were also absent from Wednesday’s session, though the club confirmed both were given scheduled rest days rather than being ruled out through fresh setbacks. De Ligt has been sidelined since November and Carrick offered a cautiously optimistic update on the centre-back’s progress.

“We have to see. It’s positive. He’s trained really well but we’re still managing it,” Carrick told reporters on Wednesday. “When you’re out for such a long period of time, you get to the final stages, pushing and pushing, and you’ve got to manage that last stage. It’s important to get that balance right to take the next step. But he’s on a good track, in a good place and it’s great to have him back around us. Hopefully, some time soon.”

On Shaw, Carrick added: “We just gave him an extra recovery day today, Luke. So, obviously, we’ll see tomorrow how he is but it’s not an ongoing thing or planning like that. Off the back of the game the other day, as normal, each individual has different little things we manage and Luke was one of them today.”

Whether either defender will be fit to feature against Sabah remains uncertain heading into Thursday.

There was better news regarding Marcus Rashford, who was withdrawn during United’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Everton at the weekend with a potential injury concern. The England forward trained fully on Wednesday and is now expected to be available for selection.

United enter the tie off the back of that frustrating draw at Everton, a result that underlined the need for a positive start in Europe. Carrick has been in permanent charge since earlier in the year and has already had to navigate a congested injury list across his first three matches.