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Ralf Rangnick has been in contact with the injured Paul Pogba as he continues to get to know his Manchester United players and instil his methods.
Rangnick defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 in his first game in charge last Sunday, becoming the first of six German managers to win their opening game in the Premier League.
A youthful United side, which featured six teenagers for just the fifth time in Champions League history, were then held to a 1-1 draw by Young Boys at Old Trafford and the Red Devils now prepare to visit Norwich City on Saturday.
They will do so, however, without Pogba – who is currently in Dubai in an attempt to recover from a thigh injury – but Rangnick explained he has spoken to the France international as he continues to outline his plans with the squad.
“We spoke over the phone two days ago or on Tuesday,” Rangnick told reporters at Friday’s news conference.
“He was still in Dubai, he’s expected to come back today and we will get to know each other in person on Sunday. We had a telephone call for around 10 or 15 minutes and he told me he was getting better.
“Obviously, he still isn’t fully fit and from what I’ve heard it will take another couple of weeks until he’s fit for training again. He has been out for quite some time so it will take another couple of weeks to get him match fit.”
Rangnick faces his first away game in the Premier League against Norwich, with none of the last four permanent United managers losing their first league game on the road since Alex Ferguson in November 1986.
However, Norwich head coach Dean Smith has already beaten United this term with Aston Villa.
He is aiming to become the first manager since Andy Aitken in 1908-09 to beat United with two different clubs in the same top-flight season.
Rangnick, though, has been satisfied with his side’s work ethic so far as he looks to build on a pleasing showing against Palace.
“In the first instance, it was about getting to know the players,” he added. “We did quite a lot of video footage with them in order to tell them how we want to play.
“As we all saw, they did well in that game. Not everything was perfect, but quite a few things worked out well. We were always on the front foot, we had control of the game.
“Now it’s about taking the next steps. What we showed against Crystal Palace was good. We didn’t allow them to score or give them too many opportunities.
“[Norwich] have improved since the change of managers. They play a little bit more direct, a little bit more vertical than they did with Daniel Farke, so it will be a challenge to play at Carrow Road.
“But we want to improve our performance, we want to build on what we showed against Crystal Palace and hopefully get the next win tomorrow.”
