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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Charlie Wilson

Four things spotted in Manchester United training as injured player returns

Manchester United returned to the training pitch at Carrington on Tuesday as they were put through their paces ahead of a big game on Thursday night.

The Red Devils will travel to the midlands to take on Leicester City, as they'll hope to continue their momentum with a positive performance and, perhaps more importantly, aim to pick up three points. After a worrying start to the year with losses to Brighton and Brentford, it looked like it could all go wrong very quickly for Erik ten Hag.

However, wins against Liverpool and Southampton, as well as the signings of Casemiro and Antony have seemingly given everyone involved with Manchester United a huge boost. And this was evident to see in United's training session Tuesday afternoon, with players in good spirits ahead of the trip to face Brendan Rodgers' Foxes.

READ MORE: Ten Hag is moulding an extra attacker at United

Here are four things we noticed at Carrington.

Victor Lindelof returns

Victor Lindelof could be close to a Manchester United return ((Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images))

The Swedish centre-back now looks like he's close to being ready to return to the first-team squad, providing United with much-needed depth in the position.

With Harry Maguire now becoming third choice centre-back behind Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, it's fair to assume that Lindelof will be fourth-choice. However, numbers will be needed in the coming weeks with the schedule set to heat up – with United's Europa League campaign beginning next week.

Now in his sixth season at Old Trafford, fans know what they will get from Lindelof, and will not be too worried to see #2 if he's called upon.

Cristiano Ronaldo upbeat ahead of deadline

Cristiano Ronaldo was pictured smiling in what is going to be a very interesting 24 hours ahead of the transfer deadline window.

The window will officially close at 11pm on Thursday, with the Portuguese superstar still keen to leave the club. However, as of now, there appears to be no realistic suitors.

The 37-year-old was seen smiling in training, as he'll hope to make an impact this season – wherever it is he'll be playing at. We'll know a lot more by this time on Thursday.

Erik ten Hag giving Bruno Fernandes advice

Bruno Fernandes was seen taking advice from Erik ten Hag ((Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images))

Now seemingly the captain with Harry Maguire currently on the bench behind Martinez and Varane, we have seen Erik ten Hag huddling up with Bruno Fernandes on multiple occasions as the manager has coached him closely.

Fernandes is being given much more responsibility in his side, linking the midfield to the attack whilst making late runs into the box in his preferred number 10 role.

It's a position that Ten Hag favours, too, using the 4-2-3-1 with great success in Ajax, with United expected to stick with it once Casemiro is fully integrated into the side.

Casemiro settling in

Two weeks ago, Casemiro joining United will have been nothing but a pipe dream. But after making a cameo appearance in the win over Southampton and now taking multiple sessions with the team in training, it's clear to see he's settling in well.

The Brazilian is one of the best defensive midfielders of this generation – a position of real need for United for a long, long time.

It will be interesting to see if Ten Hag feels confident enough to give him a start against Leicester after two wins on the bounce, but who can argue that his abilities are not deserving to slot straight into the team?

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