Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba training with reserves ahead of Newcastle United clash

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba took part in a training session with the Red Devils' young stars on Wednesday (8 November) as he bids to accelerate his recovery from a hamstring problem ahead of his side's clash against Newcastle United after the international break.

Pogba, 24, suffered the injury in United's Champions League group stage clash against Basel in September and has missed his side's last 12 matches in all competitions. Manager Jose Mourinho remained tight-lipped when asked about the France international's recovery, but ESPN claim that Pogba is back training and is hoping to play some part against Newcastle when they travel to Old Trafford on 18 November.

The former Juventus midfielder did not train with the majority of his United first-team cohorts - Mourinho had allowed players who were not selected for international duty to take the week off. Pogba used the downtime to give himself an even better chance of facing Rafael Benitez's side, and was joined by fellow injury victims Marcos Rojo and Michael Carrick at United's training complex.

Rojo has not featured at all this season after suffering a nasty knee ligament injury in April but has made good progress in his recovery and is set to return earlier than expected. The Argentina international's versatility proved rather useful to Mourinho last season, and he will presumably go some way to helping the Portuguese solve his issue at left-back.

Carrick, whose contract at United expires in the summer, only made one appearance before suffering a calf problem. The return of the former Tottenham and West Ham United lynchpin will no doubt come as a welcome boost to Mourinho, who also saw prized asset Marouane Fellaini return to action in his side's 1-0 defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.

The midfield trio will be re-integrated into first-team training next week ahead of the clash with Newcastle, who have number of injury problems of their own. Benitez will be without influential midfielder Mikel Merino, who is struggling with a back problem, while Christian Atsu and Jamaal Lascelles may also miss the trip to Old Trafford after suffering knocks against Bournemouth last weekend.