Mason Mount was subbed off, after only 19 minutes, in Manchester United’s score draw with Paris Saint-Germain yesterday. There is good news though- his substitution was only precautionary.
“He just got a kick,” United manager Michael Carrick said after the 1-1 stalemate with the current Champions League holders. “So we just wanted [it] to be a precaution really, to look after him.
Manchester United Preseason Tour 2026
Preseason Friendly #5 vs Leeds United
Kickoff: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, 7:30 PM BST
Venue: Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
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“We want to keep the group strong, and we’ve been fortunate to get everyone to this stage fit and well, so we wanted to be careful with that.” The other new injury/fitness/availability concern to arise from the weekend is backup goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who is dealing with a knock, and is thus a doubt for the midweek clash versus Leeds United.
Otherwise the situation remains the same, with Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte, Karl Darlow, Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko all remaining sidelined. The big news here isn’t who is unavailable, it’s actually who is coming back into the team.
Marcus Rashford is now officially set to rejoin the squad.
His post-World Cup holiday is over and he will join up with the rest of the Red Devils in their preseason preparations. While anything can still happen between now and transfer deadline day, it sounds like Rashford is going to be staying put this summer. But then again we have seen that coming for awhile now.
He could feature in midweek, and even if he does, it would likely be a cameo. However, after loans at Aston Villa and FC Barcelona, the next time he plays for United, it will mark his first appearance in a Red Devils short since December of 2024.
Shifting gears to Leeds, we now have an update on that thigh injury Gabriel Gudmundsson suffered in the exciting 4-2 win over Liverpool at Soldier Field in Chicago.
‘Initial assessment is that he could be that he will miss the start of the season,” Leeds boss Daniel Farke said yesterday.
“So at the moment it’s realistic to speak about, overall with his injury, four weeks. First week is now nearly done. But it could easily be that he misses the first game, or perhaps the first two games.”
So there you have it, pretty direct and straight-forward. Elsewhere for Leeds, Lucas Estella Perri (wrist) and Ilia Gruev (knee) remain sidelined.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.