As Manchester United’s final pre-season friendly approaches, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has provided a team update before the Reds take on Everton at Old Trafford.
A number of players were welcomed back into training this week, including Paul Pogba, and we will be hoping to see them all get minutes under their belt ahead of next weekend’s Premier League opener against Leeds United.
Fred is another example. He played in all but one of Brazil’s games at the Copa America this summer and they suffered defeat in the final versus a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina.
“He played nine games for Brazil in the summer so the three weeks he had away from us [on holiday] will have benefited him,” Solskjaer told club media, as per ManUtd.com.
“He’s not lost any fitness so he’s ready to go.”
All players should be looking to come back with something to prove this season, after losing the Europa League in May. It still hurts how we completely threw away an opportunity to win a trophy. It’s something that needs to be fixed soon.
Pogba is another who hasn’t been long out of the game, so he should be fresh — as a recent video shows him chipping a helpless Lee Grant in training — and the manager says he’s in “good” condition.
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However, new recruit Jadon Sancho and Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani have not yet begun training with the rest of the squad.
“Hopefully they’ll be fit when they come back in with us,” Solskjaer said.
“They’re due to come in after the weekend. There are different circumstances as to why they haven’t joined us yet, but it’s a long season and they had to have a little more time off.”
The manager gave no specific date for when Amad Diallo and Eric Bailly will return after taking part in the Tokyo Olympics.
