Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has praised Marcus Rashford and said that he may be available to face Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan in a preseason friendly on Saturday.
Rashford has not played for Man United since December 2024. His relationship with former head coach Amorim appeared strained at the time and, in January 2025, Rashford went on loan to Aston Villa.
He seemed revitalised at Villa, scoring four goals and registering six assists in 17 appearances. Last summer, Rashford moved to Barcelona on loan and provided 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances, as the Spanish giants won the LaLiga title and the Spanish Supercopa.
However, Barça decided not to make his loan permanent and have since instead brought in Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi to strengthen their attack. Rashford has since returned to Man United training, following an extended break after his World Cup exploits with England.
Carrick spoke positively about Rashford following the team’s victory on penalties over Leeds United in a preseason friendly. Rashford wasn’t in the squad but was in attendance at the match at Croke Park in Dublin.
“He’s our player, and he’s come back great,” Carrick told ITV after the game.
“I’ve known Marcus a long time, and he gives us something a little bit different, and he’s been in great spirit since he’s been back.
“He’s been back two or three days, trained, and it’s just pretty normal, to be honest.
“We’re looking forward to the start of the season.”
– Man City’s new signing Elliot Anderson could not be persuaded to sign for Man United
– Youri Tielemans reveals previous Man United attempts to sign him before Old Trafford move
– Ruben Amorim faces Man United reunion amid rocky AC Milan start
When he spoke to MUTV ahead of the Leeds clash, Carrick suggested that Rashford may be involved in United’s match against AC Milan on Aug. 15 — which would mean Rashford’s first United appearance in almost two years could come against the side now coached by the manager that chose to leave him out of the team for months.
“Marcus [Rashford,] Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and Kobbie [Mainoo] only came back a couple of days ago so they’re not quite ready but we can have them for the weekend,” Carrick said.
“We trained hard, the boys who came in, Marcus, Kobbie and Licha have trained really hard and we’ll have a recovery day tomorrow. We’ll all recover tomorrow, train Friday and prepare for the game on Saturday [against Milan]. Again, we’ll get the balance right of minutes.”
