Five things spotted in Man United training with Raphael Varane raring to go as internationals start to return

Manchester United were without a number of first-team players in Tuesday’s training session as the last few rounds of international fixtures take place.

The club are gearing up for Sunday’s derby with Manchester City, by which time it will almost be a month since their last Premier League outing. That was the 3-1 win over Arsenal which ended the Gunners’ unbeaten start and extended their own league winning run to four games.

Some players were able to enjoy a prolonged run up to this weekend’s match by returning from international duty early. Tyrell Malacia was pictured back at Carrington after helping the Netherlands qualify for the Nations League finals next summer.

He was joined by Scott McTominay, whose yellow card accumulation meant he was ruled out of Scotland’s Group B1 promotion clash with Ukraine on Tuesday evening. A number of other aspects were spotted too.

Manchester United fans were delighted to see Raphael Varane come through the international break unscathed and the France international has now returned to his club.

The former Real Madrid centre-back has formed a formidable partnership at the heart of United's defence alongside Lisandro Martinez so far this season and the duo are sure to be Erik ten Hag's preferred choice at the back when his side face bitter rivals Manchester City on Sunday.

And Varane looked raring to go as he got back to club duty alongside fellow internationals Tyrell Malacia and Scott McTominay in training on Tuesday.

Another United player not to feature for his country was Jadon Sancho. Gareth Southgate has not picked the winger since last October’s 5-0 win over Andorra, when he grabbed two assists.

While the likes of dropped duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw received a call-up this time around, regular starter Sancho instead worked on his club form ahead of Sunday’s derby. He has spent quality time with Erik ten Hag, who will have undoubtedly honed his skills and offered him advice.

The 31-year-old is not in the picture for Spain right now and is not expected to travel to the World Cup. He was snubbed again for this weekend’s international fixtures so was able to spend extended time on the training ground.

De Gea is United’s joint-longest serving player in the current squad, having arrived in July 2011 alongside Phil Jones. His contract runs out this summer although United have the option to trigger a 12-month extension.

Zidane Iqbal was seen with a new hairstyle on Tuesday. Gone are the long locks, the midfielder deciding to go for a more streamlined look.

The youngster had an impressive midfielder and will be hoping for more first team minutes at some point this season. He is now regularly training with the senior squad.

Academy starlets, who otherwise might not have been offered the opportunity, were given a chance to make an impression on Ten Hag. Left-back Sam Murray, striker Charlie McNeill (both pictured below) and centre-half Bjorn Hardley were involved in the session.

Full-back Marc Juardo, defender Rhys Bennett and midfielder Toby Collyer all got a run out. Meanwhile attackers Shola Shoretire and Alejnadro Garnacho joined in once again, not for the first time.