As he waits to see how many of Manchester United’s defenders will be available for Saturday’s Community Shield matchup against Manchester City, Erik ten Hag will have a selection quandary to open the season.

After Argentina won the Copa América, Lisandro Martínez only returned to training this week, and new signing Leny Yoro is sidelined for three months with a foot injury. Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelöf, Luke Shaw, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all questionable.

Harry Maguire was a doubt for Saturday’s match, according to Ten Hag, but he was excused from the match against Liverpool last weekend out of caution. Thus, after his training, we must determine whether or not he is healthy enough to be available. Victor participated, but he’s still unclear, as are Luke Shaw and Azza Wan-Bissaka; we’ll have to evaluate them both tomorrow.

Due to the issues, the manager will have to decide whether playing a weaker team is preferable or endangering any of the defenders who are not totally healthy. Ten Hag wants to prevent a repeat of the multiple injuries that United suffered during the previous campaign. Although he will have Jonny Evans and Diogo Dalot at his disposal, he might have to rely on Rhys Bennett or Harry Amass, two young players, to bolster his defence at Wembley.

Every player who participated in the summer’s main events returned to training either last Friday or Monday, allowing Ten Hag to evaluate each player’s availability individually. “We always aim to triumph, even in friendly matches – it’s all about the trophy,” he remarked. “To win this trophy, we’ll have a very competitive team. Since it’s preseason, we don’t take any significant chances with the players.