Man United vs. Sabah: Red Devils receive major fitness boost ahead of Champions League showdown

By Matt Law | 09 Sep 2026 14:32, Last updated: 09 Sep 2026 14:35

Marcus Rashford has trained with Manchester United ahead of Thursday's Champions League league stage opener against Azerbaijani outfit Sabah.

There had been some concern surrounding the England international when he was replaced in the second half of Man United's 2-2 draw with Everton last time out.

After the match, Red Devils head coach Michael Carrick said that Rashford 'felt something'.

“Yeah, he was feeling a bit of something,” Carrick told reporters when asked why Rashford had been replaced. “He's done very well. As I said during the week, he’s done ever so well since he came back. I thought he looked really sharp again today and dangerous.

“That final little moment didn't quite drop for him, but nevertheless, I thought he created really good opportunities, and there was a big threat throughout the game.”

Rashford was one of Man United's brightest players against Everton, and his presence in training is a major boost ahead of the team's first European match of the season.

However, it remains to be seen whether the 28-year-old is involved from the first whistle, as Carrick is set to make changes ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby with Manchester City.

Amad Diallo, Carlos Baleba and Manuel Ugarte remain on the sidelines through injury, while Matthijs de Ligt will again not be involved, but the Netherlands international is making excellent progress in his recovery from a back injury.

Luke Shaw also needs to be assessed, having missed training on Wednesday.

Carrick has called the Champions League "a magical competition", with the Red Devils returning to this level of football for the first time in three seasons.

"It's a magical competition, it's where we want to be. We want to make the most of it, we've seen special nights over the years and it's where we want to be," Carrick told reporters.

"It's the best competition to challenge yourself against the best. We're delighted to be here, but we're not here just to enjoy the occasion. We're here to do business.

"That's the challenge (to stay in the Champions League). We've done good work to get there but we want to keep pushing, we want the expectation, the hope and belief we can achieve things. Winning games is always the answer and the more games we can win the better chance we can go further.

"We have to be humble enough to understand what recent history we've had. It doesn't take away the desire and expectation to be successful, but we need to be realistic. It's a really balanced view. It's what ahead of us that matters, whether that's coming into this in good shape or not.

"We've got a team that's really ready for this phase, we need to learn and keep improving."

Man United will also take on Atletico Madrid, Como, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Villarreal in the league phase of the 2026-27 Champions League.

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