Jose Mourinho has offered Michael Carrick a place on his coaching staff once the midfielder decides to hang up his boots.
Carrick has been out of action for the majority of the season having only appeared once this season, during the EFL Cup win over Burton Albion at Old Trafford.
The club captain has kept a low profile since his last appearance but revealed on Friday that an irregular heart rhythm has been the cause of his absence.
Following Manchester United's 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Mourinho spoke of his intention to allow Carrick to remain a key figure at the club.
From captain to coach?
Carrick is currently the longest-serving active player at Old Trafford, having joined from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006. Aged 36, he has gained his coaching badges whilst also working with the youth teams at the Aon Training Complex.
Mourinho certainly admires his captain, who he wants to keep at United for the foreseeable future:"Michael, as a person, is more important than Michael as a player."
"We gave him the time to relax, to recover, to feel confident, to make the decision [when he] wants to play, [when he] wants to stop."
"He knows that my coaching staff has the chair for him if he wants." The Portuguese manager said. "When he wants the chair, it is there in the office for him. I want that, the board wants that and the owner wants that. So Michael is in a comfortable situation. His future will be with us."
Carrick suffers cardiac ablation
Carrick took to Twitter to state that he has been suffering from an irregular heart rhythm which was discovered in the 4-1 win over Burton Albion in September. The Englishman said:
"After feeling strange during the second half of the Burton game in September, I underwent a series of tests."
"It turned out to be an irregular heart rhythm which has been fully investigated and I had a procedure called a cardiac ablation."
Carrick ended by mentioning that he is now working hard to build up his fitness and place himself in the frame for the upcoming fixtures:
"I would like to reassure everyone that I'm healthy and back training hard with the team.
"I'm building up my fitness and aiming to be back in contention for selection soon."