Carrick has confirmed that Marcus Rashford will return to the Manchester United squad for the team’s visit to the Republic of Ireland.
Rashford, fellow England international Kobbie Mainoo and Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez are the last three United players to report back following the World Cup.
Rashford had not been expected to come back after joining Barcelona on loan in July 2025, but the Spanish champions chose not to activate their £26m purchase option for the 28-year-old at the end of the campaign.
Although other clubs have shown interest, no agreement has been reached. Rashford will therefore return to United for the first time since January 2025, when he joined Aston Villa following a breakdown in his relationship with former manager Ruben Amorim.
United will train at the luxury Carton House hotel in Maynooth before facing Leeds United in a friendly at Croke Park on 12 August.
Their pre-season schedule concludes with a match against Amorim’s new side, AC Milan, in Wroclaw on 15 August. Rashford could make his first United appearance since December 2024 in that fixture if Carrick believes Wednesday’s game comes too early for him.
Carrick has previously been Rashford’s team-mate, coach and manager, leading to hopes that he can repair the relationship between the player and the club. Rashford’s former number 10 shirt has since been handed to Matheus Cunha, who is also expected to travel after a minor injury kept him out of the match in Gothenburg.
“I played alongside him and was involved in the match in which he made his debut, so we have known each other for a long time,” Carrick said.
“We will have the complete squad together in Dublin this week. We are flying directly there and will spend several days with the entire group reunited. Marcus will be involved, along with Kobbie [Mainoo] and Lisandro [Martinez], and we are looking forward to welcoming them back.”
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