Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Michael Carrick is already ensuring that he does not stumble into the same major pitfall as Erik ten Hag did during his Manchester United reign at Old Trafford.
The 45-year-old Manchester United legend is in his first pre-season tour with the Red Devils after he permanently succeeded Ruben Amorim back in May.
Ruben Amorim was sacked as Man Utd manager in January, only 14 months after the 41-year-old former Sporting CP boss had replaced Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick initially served as interim head coach for United during the 2025-26 Premier League season and made an impact during his reign at the Red Devils.
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Head Coach Michael Carrick of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at Carrington Training Ground on July 20, 2026 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
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Michael Carrick’s focus on an ‘injury-free’ Man Utd pre-season is a key move forward since Erik ten Hag
Manchester United have played three of their pre-season matches under manager Michael Carrick since the start of the Red Devils’ summer tour in July.
Carrick’s men lost 1-0 to Championship club Wrexham in Finland last month before Man Utd rallied back against Rosenborg with a thumping 5-0 win in Norway.
United’s encounter with Atletico Madrid was held at the Strawberry Arena and the Red Devils picked up a superb 2-1 comeback win in Sweden.
Outside of his two wins and one defeat so far, Carrick’s message around wanting to avoid any serious injuries to his United first-team players is a major step forward.
“No injuries is a massive part of it; it is always getting the balance of how much do we push the players and how much do we save, and the boys are in a good place,” he told MUTV, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“It’s part of learning and it’s part of developing. As much as we are trying to get ready for this season to start, it is a long season and we are going to have to overcome some challenges, adapt at certain times and [try] to put things in place that will take us the full distance.”
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Erik ten Hag suffered major setbacks during his Man Utd pre-season summer tour because of injuries
Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Man Utd showed the significant impact that pre-season injuries could have on the Red Devils’ Premier League campaigns.
The 56-year-old former United manager was without Rasmus Hojlund for the opening weeks of the 2024-25 campaign due to a pre-season injury in 2024.
Just as Rasmus Hojlund came off in Man Utd’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal, Ten Hag watched then-new summer signing Leny Yoro pick up an injury as well.
Leny Yoro was absent for the opening months of the season and Ten Hag had been sacked as Man Utd manager by the time that the Frenchman had finally returned.
Ten Hag’s first United pre-season tour in 2023 included injury setbacks to both Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo, which delayed their respective breakout seasons.