Erik ten Hag has been handed a major boost ahead of Monday's crunch clash with Liverpool after Anthony Martial returned to training.
Martial has missed Manchester United's first two Premier League games through injury. In his absence, the Red Devils have lost both matches, with their solitary goal so far this term being Alexis Mac Allister's own-goal in the opening day defeat to Brighton.
The Frenchman had been United's starting striker during pre-season until he was injured in their penultimate summer friendly against Atletico Madrid. Christian Eriksen and Cristiano Ronaldo have been deployed up-front in his place, to decidedly mixed results.
But Ten Hag has received the huge boost that Martial is now back training with the first-team squad. It is understood that he is now in contention to feature against the Reds on Monday night.
The United boss announced Martial's return in his pre-match media duties on Friday, with the attacker also being spotted taking part in that day's training session. He also highlighted a drop in performance levels since Martial was forced off against Atletico.
"Victor [Lindelof] has not returned to the training pitch, but the good news is that Anthony Martial is back in training with the team. I’ve seen really good things, until Atletico Madrid," Ten Hag told MUTV.
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“After it, it’s a drop. We have to turn that around quickly, but it’s normal in the process. You grow and then you get a drop. But it’s about keeping the right pattern and the pattern going up.”
Martial's return is a major boost for Ten Hag given the disastrous start to his reign as United boss. The hammering at Brentford last week has led to fears that the humiliation at the hands of Liverpool last season could be repeated on Monday.
And Ten Hag has insisted that the first two games of his time in charge have been far from good enough. But the Dutchman is confident that he can turn things around, starting with the derby clash with Liverpool.
"I think I make myself clear. I was definitely not happy and in football you can talk about football, you can talk about planning our philosophy but the basic stuff has to be good, and that starts with the right attitude," he said.
"So you need a fighting spirit on the pitch and I didn't see that from minute one. I think it's basic. You have to bring it in every game on the pitch and of course especially Monday night. But you bring it every game.
"I know we are the rivals. We have to win every game but especially this game, yeah, I know. It starts with yourself. Act as a team. Follow the rules and principles and work hard, as hard as you can maximise. If you do that, then you get confidence. it's not difficult to motivate this team because my experience with them is that, from the start of the season, they work really well on the training pitch."
