Manchester United injury news: Marcos Rojo sets date for return after first outing with reserves

Marcos Rojo confirmed his return to action after spending close to eight months on the sidelines with a knee injury he suffered at the end of last season.

The Argentine defender will take the field with the Manchester United reserve side as they face Athletic Club in the Premier League International Cup at Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday, 15 November.

The reserve team fixture will be the defender's first piece of action since April when he suffered cruciate ligament damage to his knee during United's win over Anderlecht in the Europa League.

Rojo's return to action will come as a massive boost to Jose Mourinho as United enter one of the busiest periods of the campaign. The Argentina international, however, is aware that he will not make the step-up to the first-team immediately and is targeting a return when the 20-time English league champions take on CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on 6 December.

"Tomorrow, I am going to play a match with the reserves in a friendly match," Rojo said, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

"I feel good. Up until now I have not had any problems but training is not the same as a match, so I will play 45 minutes tomorrow for the reserves.

"In three weeks, we have a Champions League game that, if all goes well tomorrow, I could play in that," the Argentine added.

Rojo is not the only player on the mend, as Mourinho expects to have Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic back for the hectic Christmas period fixtures. The former two among the trio have been training with the first-team during the ongoing international break, while the latter has begun training with the ball but is yet to join the main squad.

Pogba is said to be the closest to making a comeback, but the United medical staff are wary of rushing him back in order to avoid a setback. He is unlikely to be picked for the Red Devils' clash against Newcastle United on Saturday, 18 November, but could return the following week.

Phil Jones, meanwhile, is the only injury concern facing Mourinho after the defender withdrew from the England squad with a thigh injury. The United centre-back was ruled out of the Three Lions' game against Brazil on Tuesday, 14 November, which they drew 0-0, after having returned to Manchester to continue his recovery.

The Red Devils centre-back was a doubt for the visit of the Magpies, but a Guardian report suggested that he could be available with the injury not as bad as initially feared.