Marcus Rashford has not played for Manchester United since a 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in October, and the first fixture pencilled in for his comeback is Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, 22 November.

The forward missed the 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa last weekend and has used the international break to work on his fitness at Carrington. Manchester United now sit 18th after ten matches, with eight points from one win, five draws and four defeats. That is the club’s lowest league position since 1986, and it leaves them in the bottom three heading into the Anfield trip.

Carrick’s day-by-day verdict

The hip problem has been compounded by thigh pain. Rashford had already watched three straight fixtures against Como, Bournemouth and Chelsea from outside the squad before adding Villa to the list.

“Marcus, we will just have to see, day by day, how he keeps improving,” Michael Carrick said when asked about the forward.

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He is not the only concern. Harry Maguire came off at half-time against Villa with a back spasm, Carlos Baleba is facing weeks out with a hamstring injury, and Luke Shaw and Benjamin Sesko remain unavailable.

Pochettino talks run in parallel

The Anfield trip doubles as a verdict on Carrick himself. The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that United have carried out “due diligence” on appointing Mauricio Pochettino as his successor, although the 54-year-old is under contract with US Soccer through the 2030 World Cup. Julian Nagelsmann, Eddie Howe and Antonio Conte are also listed as alternatives.

Carrick is publicly unmoved.

“We’re in November. I don’t like the situation where we are, I don’t like the results that we’ve had, but we can definitely do something about it,” he told reporters after the Villa draw.

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Rashford’s future still open

A return at Anfield would arrive in the middle of an unresolved transfer story. Caughtoffside reported last week that the 29-year-old could look for another move if regular minutes remain hard to come by, with former Everton executive Keith Wyness saying a January switch is being discussed.

Kick-off at Anfield is 4:30pm local time.

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