A date for Marcus Rashford 's return from injury has been set by Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 23-year-old has been sidelined since he represented England at the European Championships over the summer, where he missed a penalty in the final shoot-out against Italy.
Having enjoyed superb season in terms of personal output with the Red Devils in 2020-21 during which he scored 21 goals, persistent injuries forced the United academy graduate to go under the knife following international duty.
With the arrival of good friend Jadon Sancho and return of Cristiano Ronaldo, Rashford faces a battle to regain his place as largely an ever-present in Solskjaer's side.
The Red Devils boss has indicated when the No. 10 will be available for selection, though, who has been an absentee this season like left-back Alex Telles.
"Yeah it’s going well," he told manutd.com. "They’ve worked really hard, both of them.
"Alex is a bit further on than Marcus. I don’t think we’ll see Marcus until after the international break but Alex has worked well and will be in the squad [for West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday] as well."
United's first outing after October international break is a trip to Leicester City, before a trip to Italy in the Champions League for a clash with Atalanta.
It then gets no easier, with matches against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur before facing the Serie A side again followed by the small matter of a Manchester Derby, so having Rashford available could prove to be a valuable boost for Solskjaer.
Another player returning to fitness is long-term absentee Phil Jones, who the Norwegian is "so happy for" after not featuring since January 2020 due to more serious injury troubles.
"He has completed two 90 minutes for the Under-23s and played some minutes behind closed doors and he’s got no reaction on his knee," Solskjaer stated.
"He’s been working really hard. I’ve been part of that myself and had the best part of three years or at least more than two out of three years and I know what challenges he’s been through, mentally.
"Thinking will I ever play football again or even be able to walk again and be able to play with the kids in the garden. He’s been so diligent and so professional; no frills, no social media and I’m old school.
"I like players like that. He just focuses on one thing and gets his head around the challenges and he’s back," he added. "He will also be in the squad. It’s a good day for him and for us and it’s something that he has earned."
After beating West Ham 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday, the Red Devils once again face David Moyes and co at Old Trafford in the third round of the League Cup.
Solskjaer is set to rotate his starting XI and says some United men are "chomping at the bit" to feature.
"It’s strange how it works out and you meet the same team twice in three days," he stated. "We need to give some minutes to a few, that’s definite, and I think we’ve got a good squad.
"Quite a few of these are champing at the bit to show what they can do."
