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English Premier League giants Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Tuesday he is confident of starting with ‘fit’ Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford when the Premier League action resumes next month after the COVID-19 break. Pogba has missed the majority of the campaign with an ongoing ankle injury, while Rashford seemed set to miss the rest of the season when he suffered a double stress fracture in his back in January.
Man United players returned to training in small groups last week. The preparations are expected to be ramped up further for a return to action when Premier League clubs vote on resuming contact training on Wednesday. The clubs have been allowed to start small-group training after the top-flight football league in England was suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Hopefully now we’ve proved we can do this safely and we can move to the next step. It’s been really enjoyable being on the training ground again,” said Solskjaer in an exclusive MUTV Group Chat interview, on the club’s official website, manutd.com.
“They (Pogba and Rashford) are looking good, they’ve joined training now and they’ve done everything the other boys have been doing. No reaction so far, touch wood. When we get started, it looks like we can have a full squad to choose from,” he added.
The return of Pogba and Rashford could be a major boost to United’s hopes of ending the season on a high in three competitions.
Solskjaer’s men were three points off the top four in the Premier League when play was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.
The 47-year-old also said his players are mentally ready and look good physically after the resumption of training. Former United striker Solskjaer added that while they will need a bit of time to gel when they start training in full groups, it is great to be back on the pitch.
“We’re back in training which has been great. The boys have been fantastic, the weather’s been good and they’ve enjoyed it,” Solskjaer said.
“Hopefully now we’ve proved we can do this safely and we can move to the next step. It’s been really enjoyable being on the training ground again.
“Everyone’s looking sharp, everyone’s been in with a good mood and we’ve been splitting up in groups so (working in) fours and fives together and they’ve really done well. Hopefully, they can as I said, step up and go to bigger training groups but so far it’s been good.
“I think when we start training in full groups, of course we need a bit of time to gel again, but they’re mentally ready and physically they look okay too,” he said.
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