Manchester United are sweating on the fitness of Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw, with both at risk of missing the trip to face Atletico Madrid.
Michael Carrick and his players fly to the Spanish capital on Monday afternoon, but as is customary for United before Champions League games, they trained at their Carrington base in the morning.
That session did not include Mainoo or Shaw, both of whom started in the weekend draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Club sources insisted that by mid-morning a decision was still to be made as to whether either player would travel to Spain, with £70m summer signing Carlos Baleba ready to step in for his first start should Mainoo not be fit to go.
Mainoo pulled out of England duty over the recent international break to a combination of injury and workload management, and United are keen not to run their prized young midfielder into the ground too early.
Matthijs de Ligt, who hasn’t featured for United since November 2025, trained but is not expected to feature away to Atletico.
Kobbie Mainoo played 90 minutes against Tottenham after missing the international break
The concern around Shaw is escalated by the fact that United are already without left back alternative Dorgu, who was injured playing for Denmark during the international break.
Noussair Mazraoui, another left back alternative, is also sidelined and missed Monday’s training session, leaving Carrick and his staff with a dilemma if Shaw can’t travel.
Shaw was officially granted a designated rest day ahead of the FK Sabah game, only to not be involved in the match as the club managed his minutes.
That becomes infinitely harder with Diogo Dalot and Harry Amass, both of whom trained, now the only conceivable left backs available for the Madrid trip if Shaw fails a late fitness test.
Leny Yoro’s emergence at right back, where he played relatively well against Tottenham, sets up the prospect of United playing Dalot at left back and Yoro at right back against Diego Simeone’s relentless Atletico attack.
