Luke Shaw returns to training for Manchester United ahead of Europa League match

Manchester United's squad trained hard at Carrington on Wednesday morning ahead of their Europa League fixture against FCSB in Bucharest later this week.

The Reds were joined by Luke Shaw, who made his return to group training for the first time since early December. Shaw had been sidelined after a setback prior to United’s match against Arsenal, but is now working to regain full fitness.

The 29-year-old had only just returned to contention earlier in the season after a lengthy spell out, featuring as a substitute in matches against Ipswich Town, Bodo/Glimt, and Everton under manager Ruben Amorim.

Shaw, who is capable of playing both as a left wing-back and as one of three central defenders, will hope to overcome a challenging year and establish himself as a regular in Amorim’s lineup.

However, the manager has been cautious in his expectations, stating last week that Shaw would be carefully managed.

“He is going to be fit to train with the team,” Amorim said. “Then we have to start with more minutes. We do not have a lot of time to train. We have to put some exercises in 10 minutes, and then he has to make extra work to improve his fitness. I don’t know when he will play, but it is two weeks to start training before I think about putting him in for some minutes.”

While Shaw’s participation in the upcoming match against FCSB remains uncertain, fellow defender Victor Lindelöf, who returned to the bench at Fulham after a month-long absence, could be available.

Lindelöf, along with Manuel Ugarte, who sustained a knock at Craven Cottage, was also spotted during Wednesday's training session.

The squad will be hoping to secure a third consecutive victory, having won against Fulham and Rangers in recent matches. Three points against FCSB would guarantee United’s automatic qualification to the Europa League knockout stages.

Under Amorim, United have been unbeaten in the competition so far, with four wins and three draws.

Despite a difficult start to his tenure, the Portuguese manager will be encouraged by the recent positive results as the team looks to build momentum.

Wednesday’s training session was open to journalists, who were able to observe several key players, including Marcus Rashford, who remains absent from match action since December.

The full squad for the trip to Romania will be confirmed later on Wednesday, with Amorim hoping to strengthen his team’s European ambitions.