Paul Pogba was one of four Manchester United players who missed training ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League group opener against Astana at Old Trafford while winger Daniel James was also absent.

Pogba is still sidelined by the ankle injury that ruled him out of international duty with France and United’s win over Leicester last weekend.

Anthony Martial also missed that game with a thigh strain and did not train with the rest of the squad at Carrington on Wednesday morning.

Luke Shaw remains absent with a similar problem, while James also missed the session after picking up a knock against Leicester.

There was better news for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, with Jesse Lingard rejoining the squad following an illness and Diogo Dalot taking part after recovering from a hip injury.

Another interesting inclusion in the session was Charlie Wellens, 16, the son of former United trainee and current Swindon boss Richie Wellens.

Even if the likes of Pogba and Martial were fit, Solskjaer may consider putting out a weakened side against his opponents from Kazakhstan in the Group L opener with one eye on Sunday’s trip to West Ham.

The United boss has acknowledged that he will use the Europa League to give some of the youngsters an opportunity, even though success in this competition in 2017 opened the door for a return to the Champions League.