Luke Shaw and Daniel James train together ahead of Manchester United return

With Manchester United players set to return to Carrington next week Luke Shaw and Daniel James have become the latest first-team members to step up their own return to fitness.

Shaw and James trained together on a school playing field in Cheshire on Friday afternoon, observing social distancing guidelines while working on their own fitness.

United's players are due for a staged return to Carrington from Monday, with small groups initially returning to the facility to work together under the guidance of United's coaching staff.

United have installed a drive-thru testing station in the car park of their Carrington training complex to accommodate the planned return of players next week. It is expected players and staff will report to the facility to be tested on their arrival at Carrington, with players returning in small groups initially.

The testing will be done in line with Premier League protocols and guidelines, with discussions still taking place to finalise those procedures.

Shaw and James have followed in the footsteps of Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof and Andreas Pereira, who trained together at a park in Bowdon on Thursday, again observing social distancing guidelines after exercise restrictions were eased.

Odion Ighalo and Anthony Martial also trained alone on Thursday, with players now seeking to build up their fitness ahead of a return to Carrington.

The return to training is the first phase of the Premier League's Project Restart, which aims to get the season back up and running in mid-June.

There are 92 games remaining to be played and they will be contested behind-closed-doors, with more discussions set to take place between the Premier League, clubs, players and government officials before the restart is confirmed.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said last week he expected to have a fully-fit squad to choose from if the season resumes in June.

"Of course we're trying to improve all the time, develop as a team, and now we've got a full squad to choose from, and hopefully we've been looking after ourselves in the two months that we've been out," he said.

"We just have to play it by ear and hope they click early. But let's get back to training first and then hopefully we can play soon."

Marcus Rashford has been checking in at Carrington twice a week over the last fortnight for additional treatment on his back injury.

The United forward has not been doing any outdoor training on the premises and was the only player permitted entry on arrival. The forward hasn't played since January 15.