Manchester United host Sabah in their opening Champions League game of the season on Thursday night and Michael Carrick has been forced to address concerns over Luke Shaw
Head Coach Michael Carrick of Manchester United
Michael Carrick spoke ahead of Manchester United's first Champions League tie(Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Manchester United's decision not to sign a left-back in the summer transfer window has been put under scrutiny after Luke Shaw missed a training session ahead of their opening Champions League game of the season.
United went into the transfer window keen to bring in some competition for Shaw, but failed to sign one, with top target Lewis Hall unavailable from Newcastle. Shaw played all 38 Premier League games for United last season, but the club have a tougher challenge this season having returned to the Champions League.
The challenge facing Michael Carrick is clear this week, with the derby against Manchester City coming on Sunday on the back of Thursday's Champions League game against debutants Sabah. With just one senior specialist left-back in the squad, Shaw's fitness and durability will come under the microscope.
The 31-year-old was absent from Wednesday's training session, raising concerns over his availability. But Carrick played down any hint of an injury in his pre-match press conference.
"We just gave him an extra recovery day today," he said. "We'll see by tomorrow how he is, but it's not an ongoing thing or a plan or anything like that. It was just off the back of the game the other day. Each individual has kind of different little things that we manage and Luke was one of them today."
With academy graduate left-back Harry Amass not in the squad, it was Noussair Mazraoui who replaced Shaw off the bench in the 2-2 draw with Everton on the weekend. Mazraoui, Patrick Dorgu and Diogo Dalot are the most likely alternatives to Shaw.
Carrick knows he will have to use his squad to manage the busy fixture schedule. Asked whether rotation would come against the team from Azerbaijan on Thursday night at Old Trafford, Carrick made his approach clear.
Luke Shaw of Manchester United
Luke Shaw is the only senior specialist left-back at Manchester United(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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"It's a balanced view, that's why we've got the squad," he said. "We need to adapt to certain strengths and different ways of playing. We play Thursday, Wednesday, it's about managing the group and trusting them and anyone who can play will play."
The Manchester Derby comes quickly on the back of Thursday's game, but Carrick refused to complain. "I'm not concerned," he said. "It's not ideal, but it's not something we can do much about. We've got to deal with the cards we were dealt."
The depth in defence has been given a boost by the return to training of Matthias de Ligt, who hasn't played since the end of November, having undergone back surgery in May.
"It's positive. Matta has trained really well," said Carrick. "I think when you're out for such a long period of time and you get right to the final stages and you push and you push, you've got to manage that last stage. It's important.
"We've got to get that balance right for when to take the next step. But he's on a good track, he's in a good place, and it's great to have him back around us, and hopefully it'll be sometime soon."
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