Manchester United invited a special guest to the club’s training sessions ahead of the Premier League restart.
Former rugby union star Kevin Sinfield was pictured at Carrington, speaking to assistant coach Steve McClaren.
His presence added to an eventful day at Manchester United HQ, with Luke Shaw rejoining first team training, and Lisandro Martinez also stepping up his light training work after surgery.
United are preparing for the Premier League restart, set to face Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Who is Kevin Sinfield
Kevin Sinfield is a former rugby union player for the Leeds Rhinos, and has since moved into coaching, where he is the current England defensive coach.
He has also become known in recent years for his tireless charity work, which last year saw him run 275 miles from Murrayfield in Scotland to a finish line at Old Trafford.
He has now pledged to take on a new ‘ultra marathon’ challenge, involving an intensive seven consecutive days of running added-length marathons between different cities around the UK, which begins on December 1, per BBC Sport.
In the meantime, he spent time around Manchester United’s coaching staff and first team squad yesterday, perhaps to pick up inspiration, or to pass on his own advice.
If the players fear an intensive fixture list, they need only look at Sinfield’s gruelling exploits, to put their task ahead into perspective.
Manchester United players scared of hard work
It really is fascinating timing for a visit from Kevin Sinfield, amid reports in The Guardian claiming some Manchester United players believe their poor start to the season is down to working too hard in pre-season.
The report says “They have complained of beginning the campaign feeling as tired as when they finished the previous one. Those discontented include several senior squad members.”
What better moment to put their complaints into perspective?
Sinfield will be doing the 7 x 7 x 7 challenge, which is running a marathon with an extra mile, seven days in a row, accumulating 190 miles in a week.
He is doing the challenge to raise funds for charities for motor neurone disease (MND), a condition affecting his rugby league pal Rob Burrow.
Are there any Manchester United players still complaining about their pre-season workload?
We suspect not. Hopefully this was a wake-up call to the Red Devils’ pampered stars.
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