Training boost ahead of Palace tie

The summer signing from Chelsea has been sidelined through injury since the defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in our second match of the season.

However, the England international is clearly stepping things up, with a Premier League clash to follow, also at home to the Eagles, on Saturday afternoon.

Our training pictures show the players going through their paces at Carrington, with Harry Maguire also taking part.

The centre-back missed the Bayern Munich game in the UEFA Champions League and the weekend win at Burnley, with Jonny Evans coming in for the injured Lisandro Martinez.

Fit-again Raphael Varane, who came on as a substitute at Turf Moor, was also involved in the session.

Sofyan Amrabat, who made his debut for the club, at left-back in the closing stages of the 1-0 victory, was another keen to prove his fitness in time for the start of our defence of the trophy, won last season by beating Newcastle United in the final at Wembley.

Our cameras also snapped Altay Bayindir, with the Turkey international a possible debutant if Erik ten Hag opts to rotate his goalkeepers in this competition.

Coaches Benni McCarthy and Eric Ramsay watched on as several youngsters featured, including Dan Gore and James Nolan. It will be interesting to see if any Academy prospects make the squad as Ten Hag's selections were predominantly experienced in the cup competitions during his first campaign in charge, but the squad is looking in a healthier shape in general with FA Youth Cup-winner Alejandro Garnacho fresh after not getting off the bench at the weekend.