How United players are spending the break
The majority of the Manchester United squad has been granted time off this week, with the Reds not due to be in action again until Friday 4 February.
That's because FIFA has earmarked this time as an international break for the non-UEFA nations, in order to catch up on World Cup qualifiers.
Alex Telles and Fred have joined up with Brazil, while Edinson Cavani is in the Uruguay squad, alongside loanee Facundo Pellistri.
That quartet, alongside Hannibal and Eric Bailly, who are still involved at the Africa Cup of Nations, are therefore firmly focused on fixtures for their national team. But what about United's other players?
These Rashford finishes are ice-cold!
It’s only been a few days, but we can’t wait to see Marcus in action again after watching this video…
The hard work doesn’t stop for Diogo Dalot, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, it seems.
The trio shared images and videos of themselves together in the gym and out on the pitches in Dubai, with the latter captioning one particular snap 'No days off'.
No days off 💪🏾⚽️ pic.twitter.com/OyIs5OYpuT
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 24, 2022
Rashford goes into the break in a good vein of goalscoring form, having netted twice in two games off the bench, including Saturday's last-gasp winner against West Ham.
And it looks like there’s plenty more where that came from, as our no.10 finishes expertly in the video which you can watch above.
Other players will be no doubt be enjoying having time to spend at home or on holiday with their loved ones after a busy recent schedule, spanning 14 games in nine weeks since the November break.
Indeed, Ralf Rangnick told us last week that he himself will use the pause between club matches to catch up with his family.
Our interim manager is, of course, used to having a winter break during December and January in his native Germany, but the action at United has come thick and fast since he took the helm at the beginning of last month.
“Yes, I think it’s important as it’s the only moment where players and also staff members can recover a little bit and see their family,” said the 63-year-old.
“I haven’t been able to see my family over Christmas so at least it’s a small opportunity to see each other again.
“The same can be true of the players and then we still have a normal week of training in order to get ready and prepared for the cup game against Middlesbrough.”
United face Chris Wilder's Boro side at Old Trafford in the Emirates FA Cup on Friday 4 February, kicking off at 20:00 GMT.