Manchester United's players who were not involved at the World Cup returned to Carrington last Thursday to begin pre-season training as Michael Carrick prepares for his first full season as head coach.

Bryan Mbeumo was among those back on the training pitch, alongside Mason Mount, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, and Joshua Zirkzee, with the squad undergoing fitness assessments and the opening sessions of their summer programme.

United's pre-season schedule begins on Saturday with a clash against Wrexham in Helsinki, Finland. They will then travel to Trondheim, Norway, to face Rosenborg six days later before taking on Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Reds will round off their preparations for the 2026/27 campaign with further friendlies against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg, Sweden, Leeds United in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland, completing a six-match pre-season schedule.

As is often the case, any stars competing at a summer international tournament are granted three weeks off from the date they exit the tournament – and United had 13 players competing in the World Cup.

With only Spain, France, England, and Argentina remaining in the competition, with all sides playing a semi-final tie and then either the World Cup final or third-placed play-off depending on their results, United have three stars in that mix.

Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford have been representing England, while Lisandro Martínez has started every game but one for Argentina. All three players will not likely return to United until the week of 10 August, and may play against Leeds.

Three of United's 13 World Cup players were knocked out in the group stage. Altay Bayındır's Turkey finished bottom of their group, while Tyler Fletcher's Scotland and Manuel Ugarte's Uruguay couldn't make it through as third-placed teams.

The former two are likely to return to Carrington next week, while Ugarte suffered an ACL injury and will have to undergo a rehabilitation programme that will last at least nine months.

The round of 32 unfortunately saw Amad's Ivory Coast knocked out of the competition in a 2-1 loss against Norway at the end of June, meaning he may return later next week, and possibly be available to face Rosenborg on Friday, July 24.

Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot's Portugal then exited the competition in the round of 16 alongside Matheus Cunha's Brazil, with all three players possibly rejoining the United group in the final week of July, making them available to face Atletico Madrid.

Noussair Mazraoui, Senne Lammens, and new signing Youri Tielemans then bowed out of the competition in the quarter-final stage as Morocco and Belgium failed to get past Spain and France, meaning the beginning of August is likely their return date.

This could mean United may see Tielemans play in Red for the first time when United face PSG on Saturday, August 8.

Many of the above names were some of Carrick's most integral players during the second half of last season, with Fernandes, Dalot, and Mainoo playing the vast majority of fixtures.

But, with many such players unavailable for the first half of pre-season, there is a chance for others to stake their claim.

New midfield signing Andrey Santos will have plenty of time to shine at his new club, while Mason Mount may play a key role in the opening friendly fixtures as the starting attacking midfielder in Fernandes' absence.

With Lammens and Bayındır unavailable, new goalkeeper Karl Darlow is likely to play in net for many of the first few fixtures, and Martínez competing in the final few games of the tournament means a spot next to Harry Maguire in defence is free.

Both of United's first-choice right-backs, Dalot and Mazraoui, will not be available for the start of the pre-season campaign, so who Carrick picks to play on that flank could be interesting.