‘Casemiro has started training on the pitch, as the Brazilian steps up his recovery for Manchester United,’ a statement from the club read.

‘On Sunday, the midfielder was spotted training alone on the grass at Carrington, while his team-mates took part in a recovery session.’

However, it seems unlikely that the 31-year-old will be back playing in the near-future with Erik ten Hag previously saying that he didn’t expect the defensive midfielder back before Christmas.

That means he is set to miss United’s huge week of fixtures, where they host Bayern Munich on Tuesday in a must-win Champions League clash before travelling to arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday.

A humiliating 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday has left the Red Devils sixth in the Premier League, 10 points behind the Reds at the top of the table.

As such the pressure has been mounting on Ten Hag and he’ll be relieved to have Casemiro back at Carrington amid reports of discontent among the players.

💪 @Casemiro#MUFC pic.twitter.com/rwlXogWDOW

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 10, 2023

It is said that the manager has missed the influence of Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez in the dressing room as he looks to get the full support of the squad back.

Casemiro was one of United’s best players last season, but so far this campaign the Real Madrid legend has looked a shadow of his former self.

Though the likes of Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw have returned to full fitness recently, there are still many other injury issues that United are dealing with, including Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount.

Captain Bruno Fernandes will also miss the trip to Anfield through suspension, but in better news promising youngster Amad Diallo has returned to training having recovered from a lengthy knee injury.

Martinez back at Carrington

Lisandro Martinez was pictured at Carrington on November 22 as he stepped up his recovery. He is not yet back in full training, just pictured with Diogo Dalot above to support his teammates during drills.

Ten Hag’s forecast neither player will be back before Christmas is currently looking accurate, but both players will be pushing to return as quickly as possible.

United must be firm with this, as both players ended up facing spells out after rushing back from previous issues.

It could be 2024 until we see them back in the line-up. Amid a tough fixture list, we could really do with them both back right now.