The days are only getting darker for Manchester United as Michael Carrick prepares his squad to face AS Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford.

With United sitting 17th in the Premier League table, they have somehow found themselves in an even lower position in Europe, sitting 20th in the league phase of the competition.

One win against Sabah was followed by losses against Atletico Madrid and Como, with Roma heading to Manchester having not lost a game in the Serie A this season. United's last win in all competitions came against Sabah, with three draws and six losses since.

Carrick is said to still retain the support of United's hierarchy to turn things around, although the upcoming international break provides a perfect chance to change manager, with Eddie Howe the reported favourite for the job.

On Monday morning, United hosted an open training session in the view of the press and cameras, with a few things not going unnoticed by keen watchers ahead of the crunch European clash.

When United's players emerged from the dressing room, it became clear that Carrick had two key attacking injury boosts, amid the squad's dire need for more goals.

Despite heading off with an injury in the second half against Chelsea on Saturday, Amad was back in full training with the rest, while Patrick Dorgu was also spotted with the squad, having sustained a hamstring issue that saw him miss October's fixtures.

Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw are still out of the squad, while Manuel Ugarte, Benjamin Šeško, and Tom Heaton are not expected to return to action any time soon.

Normally, a fair few of United's brightest young stars join the senior group for training ahead of European games, so it was interesting to see that only two youngsters were part of Carrick's training crew on Monday morning.

Shea Lacey and Harry Amass were both spotted as part of the group, and both players have shouts to start or play significant minutes on Tuesday evening.

United have been playing without a left-back since Shaw's injury. Although Diogo Dalot has deputised at left-back, Amass is the side's only natural player in the position, and a home clash against Roma could be the perfect chance for his first start of the season.

At the same time, with Amad suffering the issue against Chelsea and Dorgu only just returning to training, Lacey may be afforded a start on the right wing amid possible rotation for United.

Leny Yoro was suspended after the shocking 4-1 loss to Como last week, and although he has been playing in the more unorthodox right-back role, he has been United's best defender so far this season.

With Lisandro Martínez putting in several shocking performances lately, there is a clear case for the Frenchman to replace his teammate as one of the two centre-backs against Roma.

Yoro returned to the Champions League group after serving his suspension, and with Matthijs de Ligt also part of the group, Carrick could opt to make multiple changes in defence.

If Amass starts on the left, Dalot could shift to the right. This would leave De Ligt and Yoro as ideal partners ahead of Senne Lammens.