Three important things noticed during Manchester United training ahead of Real Sociedad clash

Ruben Amorim took his final Manchester United training session on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the all-important clash against Real Sociedad.

Manchester United head into a pivotal Europa League clash against Real Sociedad this week, with their season at stake.

On Sunday, they endured a heartbreaking FA Cup exit, falling to Fulham on penalties in the fifth round after missed spot-kicks from Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Zirkzee.

Ruben Amorim’s side sit 14th in the Premier League, well adrift of European qualification, leaving the Europa League as their only realistic shot at silverware and a route to the Champions League.

A challenging round-of-16 tie awaits, with the first leg taking place in Spain on Thursday before the return fixture at Old Trafford next week.

United conducted an open training session on Wednesday morning, with the media in attendance to watch the opening 15 minutes at Carrington.

Maguire and Ugarte absent

One of the first things noticed during United training was the fact that Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte were absent from the session.

Both players came off against Fulham on the weekend, with Maguire visibly struggling beforehand. Ugarte’s problem was not noticed, however.

It seems unlikely that either player will travel with the squad for the clash, which is a huge blow for Amorim as they both would’ve likely started the game.

This would be the first game that Maguire hasn’t been in the starting lineup since United’s last game in the Europa League against FCSB.

Collyer returns to action

On the other hand, it was good to see Toby Collyer back in full training after his time on the sidelines. He has been injured since the FA Cup clash against Leicester City a month ago.

The 21-year-old midfielder was beginning to make a positive impression in the first-team beforehand and pushing for a starting spot in the team.

Amorim admitted that Collyer was giving him a selection headache with his performances from the bench, with the midfielder’s energy and defensive awareness praised.

While United would ideally want to reintegrate him to the team slowly, the injury situation could mean that he is throw right back into the squad and possibly onto the pitch on Thursday.

Youth stars included after “confusing” decision

Once again, there was several youth stars involved in the session amid the injury concerns at Old Trafford and several of those players could travel to Spain.

Chido Obi was involved at Carrington despite being unavailable for selection this week due to his exclusion from the Europa League squad list.

Jack Fletcher and Harry Amass both trained, with Fletcher being added to the squad ahead of this clash. He could push for a place in the travelling squad.

Other youth teams players spotted included Jack Moorhouse, James Scanlon, Jaydan Kamason and Jayce Fitzgerald.

Recent reports claimed that there was confusion at Carrington as to why Amorim had not promoted Scanlon to the first-team in recent months.

After the 18-year-old’s brace for the Under-18s on Monday evening, Amorim has seemingly finally decided to give him a chance alongside the first-team squad.

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