Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has returned to the club's Carrington headquarters for pre-season training, marking his reintegration after the World Cup. He is joined by Portugal teammate Diogo Dalot and Brazil's Matheus Cunha, who also reached the World Cup's last 16. Noussair Mazraoui has also rejoined the squad after competing in the quarter-finals with Morocco.
These players are scheduled for individual testing and fitness assessments. They could be included in the travelling squad for United's upcoming pre-season friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg on Saturday. New signing Youri Tielemans, a £35 million acquisition, may also feature in that match.
The fitness of striker Benjamin Sesko remains a point of uncertainty. He has missed United's first three pre-season games against Wrexham, Rosenborg, and Atletico Madrid due to a persistent shin problem. An update on the Slovenian striker's condition is anticipated later on Monday.
The final group of World Cup participants expected to return are England duo Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford, alongside Argentina's Lisandro Martinez. They are set to join the team's training camp in Ireland, where Manchester United will also play Leeds. The club has indicated they do not anticipate significant issues with the thigh injury Martinez sustained in the World Cup final or the back complaint that kept Mainoo out of England's bronze medal match, pending their return and assessment.
Manager Michael Carrick commented on the phased return of players. "We’ve got five or six coming back on Monday, and then more a week after that," he stated before the team's victory over Atletico Madrid. "The further you get in the World Cup, the less time you have off. We had a bit of a joke about that with the players before they left, that's just how it is."
Meanwhile, Manuel Ugarte has been undergoing rehabilitation since mid-July at Carrington. He returned following surgery for the knee ligament injury he sustained during Uruguay's group stage defeat to Spain.