Martinez fit, tennis rivalries, squad bonded — how Man Utd's Dublin camp has set up Leeds showdown

Manchester United's players returned from their mid-season training camp in Ireland this week refreshed, bonded and with a crucial injury boost ahead of Monday's Premier League clash with Leeds United at Old Trafford.

The squad spent four days at the Carton House luxury hotel in County Kildare, just outside Dublin, making the most of a 24-day gap between Premier League fixtures caused by the international break and United's early exits from domestic cup competitions.

Three intensive training sessions and lengthy gym work formed the backbone of the trip, but the camp offered far more than just physical preparation.

The most significant development of the week came on the training pitch itself — the return of Lisandro Martinez to full group training after missing the last five matches through injury.

The 28-year-old Argentine brought his trademark intensity to the sessions and his availability for Monday could prove decisive. With Harry Maguire — an ever-present under Michael Carrick — suspended following his red card at Bournemouth, United need Martinez fit and ready. The timing of his return could not have been better managed.

Carrick was clearly enthused. "To have Licha in and around it again is good," he said. "Obviously, Harry's going to miss the game so we've got Licha back around it, with Leny [Yoro] and Ayden [Heaven], and we just want to get stronger as a group really."

Mason Mount also used the time in Dublin to build his fitness after his injury-hit season, pushing for inclusion after his brief cameo at Bournemouth — his first appearance since the Manchester derby in mid-January.

Not all the competition was confined to the training pitch. The players found time between sessions for golf, clay pigeon shooting and — most fiercely contested of all — tennis.

Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha are said to have dominated the tennis courts during the downtime, with the pair apparently as competitive off the pitch as they are on it. Given Fernandes' Player of the Month form and Cunha's impressive contributions this season, few inside the camp will have been surprised that the two were fighting hardest to win.

It speaks to the spirit Carrick has built within this group — a dressing room that wants to compete in everything, not just on matchdays.

The welcome United received in Ireland was something the players were not expecting. Thousands of fans descended on the grounds of Carton House over the four days, with players comparing the reception to matchday atmosphere at Old Trafford as they signed autographs and posed for photographs.

Among those who made the trip were Westlife's Nicky Byrne, Dublin GAA star Carla Rowe and — perhaps most movingly — nine-year-old Harry McCormack, a lifelong patient at Crumlin Hospital who is named after Northern Ireland and Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, a survivor of the 1958 Munich air disaster. It was the kind of moment that reminds players why this club means so much to so many people beyond the football.

Benjamin Sesko took time out of the camp to visit Croke Park — one of the great sporting arenas in the world — for a photo opportunity, and impressed those around him by demonstrating a genuine knowledge of GAA, a sport he revealed he has watched on television back in Slovenia.

The visit coincided with the announcement that United will play a pre-season friendly against Leeds at Croke Park on August 12, with a 19:30 BST kick-off. It is a fixture that adds an extra layer of intrigue to Monday's Premier League meeting between the two clubs — though United will need a replacement opponent if Leeds are relegated or reach the Community Shield via the FA Cup.

United returned from Dublin in a strong position. Third in the Premier League with seven games remaining and seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea, their Champions League hopes received a further boost this week when Arsenal's 1-0 win over Sporting CP in their Champions League quarter-final confirmed that the Premier League will have at least five clubs in the competition next season — meaning even fifth place would guarantee European football.

But as assistant manager Steve Holland made clear from Dublin, the club's ambitions extend beyond simply securing a top four finish. "I think the language we should be using as this club is to finish as close as we possibly can to the top," he said. "Always we should be looking for more than that."

After a day off on Friday following the return from Ireland, the squad resumed preparations over the weekend for Monday's visit of Leeds. The camp has done its job — players are sharper, fitter and closer as a group than they were a week ago.

Now comes the hard part.