Ryan Giggs Manchester United
Ryan Giggs to lead Manchester United's pre-season training in absence of Louis van Gaal.Reuters

Former Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs is to lead the pre-season training of the Red Devils in the absence of newly-appointed boss Louis van Gaal.

Van Gaal is on national duty with the Netherlands squad, which is to play against Argentina in the World Cup semifinals slated to take place on July 10. The Dutchman will officially join Man United after his country's World Cup run comes to an end.

Giggs managed Manchester United in the final four Premier League games, following the sacking of David Moyes. The Welshman will be assisted by former Netherlands Under-21 coach Albert Stuivenberg, who has recently joined Old Trafford.

Players who did not play in the World Cup, including Ashley Young, Darren Fletcher, Wilfried Zaha, Nick Powell and Jonny Evans, will return to training, along with newly-signed midfielder Ander Herrera.

However, players like Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Antonio Valencia, who competed in the World Cup are given extra time to recover, while Robin van Persie is still with the Netherlands' squad in Brazil.

Following the pre-season training, Man United are slated to play a number of friendly matches with teams including Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and LA Galaxy.

"I'm really excited to go with United to America," said Herrera. "We will play some big games against Roma, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. It will be a dream for me to pull on the United's shirt against them."

Midfielder Darren Fletcher said the team is aiming to succeed in the upcoming tour and playing against strong European and Latin American teams will help them improve fitness and get valuable experience before the Premier League season starts.

"You want to challenge yourself against the best, and although it's pre-season if you're playing against someone like Real Madrid you are going to be against top quality opposition," Fletcher said.

"It's like in training here, when we play in two teams (in training), it becomes quite competitive and you'll see the same in these tour matches," he added. "Once you get on that pitch it's competitive and you always want to win every game and every tournament you're involved in."

"I'm sure the sports science lads will be saying that it's all about minutes and not getting injured, but sometimes these games can get feisty. It's what you want as you want to make an impression and impress the fans and the manager, because you want to be in the team for the start of the season."