Carrick's Manchester United Faces PSG Amid Squad Challenges

New era, familiar problems. Michael Carrick takes his Manchester United squad into a glamour friendly with PSG on Friday night juggling excitement over a key new arrival with a squad list full of absentees and patched-up solutions.

World Cup hangover shapes Carrick’s options

The headline boost is the long-awaited availability of United’s new Belgian midfielder, whose debut has been pushed back by his country’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals. His mandatory 21-day break is finally over, and Carrick can now call on him for the first time.

The same rule bites hard elsewhere.

England trio Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, along with Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez, are all still sidelined as they complete their post-tournament rest. Benjamin Sesko remains out too, still hampered by the shin injury that cut short his campaign last season.

The knock-on effect is obvious: Carrick has to improvise.

Illness, injuries and a thin goalkeeping department

Senne Lammens and Matheus Cunha both miss out, though for different reasons. Cunha only returned to training this week after Brazil duty at the World Cup, while the club confirmed that both he and Lammens are recovering from minor, unrelated illnesses. They are expected to rejoin the group at next week’s training camp in the Republic of Ireland.

That camp includes a standout date: a historic meeting with old rivals Leeds at Dublin’s Croke Park on Wednesday night. The schedule is heavy. The resources are not.

Nowhere is that clearer than in goal.

Altay Bayindir is absent after sealing a loan move to Celta Vigo on Friday. Karl Darlow, signed earlier in the summer, still cannot feature after minor surgery carried out while he was at Leeds late last season. Lammens is unwell. Radek Vitek has gone, sold to Middlesbrough in a permanent deal worth up to £14million.

The result? A 40-year-old Tom Heaton starts again, with Dermot Mee and teenager Fred Heath backing him up. It is not the depth chart of an elite club in mid-season, but this is pre-season reality for Carrick.

Fernandes returns as Carrick names 22-man squad

Carrick has confirmed a 22-man travelling squad for the PSG clash, and there is at least one reassuring name back on the teamsheet. Captain Bruno Fernandes returns to headline the group, restoring some authority and invention to the middle of the pitch.

He is joined by full-backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui, though only Mazraoui gets the nod to start. The Moroccan’s inclusion hints at Carrick’s desire for aggression and energy down the flanks, especially with so many senior attackers still absent.

Up front, Bryan Mbeumo leads the line again after his match-winning turn in Stockholm. His two goals in the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid last weekend underlined his sharpness and importance in this makeshift phase of pre-season. With Rashford out and Sesko still recovering, Mbeumo’s form matters.

One of the more romantic subplots from that win in Sweden does not carry over. Fifteen-year-old JJ Gabriel, who made his senior debut against Atletico, drops out of the squad, as does fellow youngster Jim Thwaites, another debutant in the same game. The step up was brief, but memorable. For now, Carrick leans back towards experience.

Long-term concerns at the back and in midfield

The absences are not just about rest and rotation. Some of them cut deeper.

Midfielder Manuel Ugarte faces months out after undergoing surgery in July on the serious knee injury he suffered at the World Cup with Uruguay. He will not be part of Carrick’s early plans at all, a major blow to the physical balance of United’s midfield options.

At the back, Matthijs de Ligt is still not ready to return from a long-term back issue. His ongoing rehabilitation leaves United short of a senior centre-back option at a time when Martinez is unavailable and the season’s competitive demands are inching closer.

So Carrick heads into PSG with a new midfielder finally ready, a captain restored, a veteran goalkeeper between the posts, and a squad stretched by World Cup hangovers, injuries and illness.

Pre-season friendlies rarely tell the whole story. This one, though, will say plenty about how quickly Carrick can weld this uneven group into something that looks ready for the real thing.