Manchester United’s first Champions League match in three years arrives at Old Trafford on Thursday evening, and the head coach’s team sheet has thinned in the past 48 hours. Marcus Rashford, Matthijs de Ligt and Carlos Baleba all featured in Yahoo Sports’ latest injury round-up on the club, each with a different timeline back into contention.

Michael Carrick was confirmed as permanent head coach on a two-year deal in May after replacing the sacked Ruben Amorim in January, steering United from a 15th-placed finish the previous season into the top four. The Sabah tie is his first European night in the dugout.

Rashford a doubt after 70 minutes at Goodison

Rashford was withdrawn on 70 minutes during Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Everton, having looked one of United’s most dangerous outlets alongside Luke Shaw down the left. The 28-year-old forward, back at Old Trafford after last season on loan at Barcelona, is listed as a doubt for the Sabah tie rather than a definite absentee.

“He felt a little bit of something so we had to change him,” Carrick said after the Everton game.

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Speaking again the following day, the head coach downplayed the severity.

“Yeah, he was feeling a bit of something.”

De Ligt closing in after 10 months out

Matthijs de Ligt has not played for United since November after undergoing lower back surgery. The Netherlands defender is back in first-team training at Carrington and is being targeted for a return within September.

“He’s in good shape and moving in a good direction. So that’s really a good bonus for us,” Carrick said.

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United’s own recovery timeline had already flagged that De Ligt was expected to rejoin group work in the opening stages of the new campaign rather than in pre-season.

Baleba out for weeks with ankle problem

Summer signing Carlos Baleba, the £70m midfielder recruited to add legs to Carrick’s midfield, arrived with a minor ankle issue that has pushed back his debut. His most likely return point is the home game against Tottenham on October 10, possibly before the next international break.

“He’s got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks, but we’ll see,” Carrick said.

Amad Diallo is also unavailable and is more likely to target the Manchester derby on September 13 than the Sabah tie.

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Kick-off against Sabah FK at Old Trafford is at 8pm local time on Thursday, September 10.

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