Some Manchester United players will be victims of their own success in pre-season

Manchester United will play three friendlies in the United States after jetting out to Los Angeles on Wednesday, but their most important date of pre-season might be back at Wembley on Saturday, August 10.

The Community Shield might come with silverware but it remains just a slightly more competitive pre-season fixture, even allowing for the fact that it will be yet another Manchester derby at Wembley. For Erik ten Hag, it will be the first time all summer he has his strongest squad available.

There are plenty of star names on the flight out to the USA and the sides to face Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool will be competitive, but pre-seasons in years involving a summer tournament can be unpredictable and the success of some United players will give Ten Hag a dilemma.

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Of the six players set to miss the entirety of the tour, it is the two from Copa America winners Argentina and European Championship runners-up England that will be most critical. All of Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho would be in Ten Hag's strongest XI.

That isn't the case for Facundo Pellistri, a Copa America semi-finalist with Uruguay, or £36.5m forward Joshua Zirkzee, who reached the same stage of Euro 2024 with the Netherlands. Zirkzee is likely to begin the season as back-up to Rasmus Hojlund.

Shaw's start in Berlin for the final against Spain is his only competitive start since February 18 and when he returns to Carrington he will have around a week to get up to speed for the Community Shield and just under two weeks before the Premier League campaign begins.