Manchester United Squad Update: Sesko's Injury Concerns Ahead of PSG
Manchester United head to Gothenburg this weekend with Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon and a new signing in tow, but one name is still missing from the boarding pass.
Youri Tielemans has been included in Michael Carrick’s 22-man squad for Saturday’s glamour friendly, the Belgian in line for his first appearance since arriving at Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes travels too, as expected, to lead a group that should offer a strong hint of United’s thinking ahead of the new campaign.
Benjamin Sesko does not.
The Slovenian striker, widely tipped to return in time for this test against the European champions, remains stuck in limbo. His absence is no longer a minor footnote to pre-season; it has become one of its defining storylines.
A knock that lingers
Sesko’s problem dates back to last season, when he aggravated a shin injury against Liverpool and missed United’s final three matches of the campaign. At the time, the diagnosis brought little alarm. Not serious. Expected back for pre-season. A straightforward summer reset.
It has been anything but.
United have not yet been able to give him a single minute in pre-season. The 23-year-old, who produced 12 goals and one assist in 32 appearances last term, has been seen at Carrington, but only on the fringes. He is working, just not with the main group. Not yet at full tilt.
The Manchester Evening News reporter Steven Railston offered the clearest line from inside the club this week, stating that Sesko is “still on track to be fit for the start of the season” and is “stepping up his rehabilitation at Carrington.” Inside the building, the message is calm: no need to panic.
Outside, the mood is different.
Fans remember De Ligt
Supporters have started to connect dots they do not like. The uncertainty around Sesko’s exact return date, and the lack of clarity over whether he will travel to next week’s training camp in the Republic of Ireland, has revived uncomfortable memories of last season.
Matthijs de Ligt was initially expected to miss a single game. That minor issue stretched into six months. A short lay-off became a long-running saga. United insist Sesko’s case is not comparable, but the communication gap has left room for anxiety to grow.
The facts are simple enough: the club say the injury is not serious, and they still expect him to be ready when the competitive fixtures start. The calendar tells a harsher truth. The games are coming. Sesko is not in them.
Fitness vs. sharpness
Even if Sesko hits that target and returns for the opening weekend, another problem looms: sharpness. Pre-season is where strikers find their rhythm, their timing, their relationships with new team-mates. It is where a No.9 learns the patterns and angles of a new system.
United’s No.30 has effectively lost that runway.
Carrick now faces a delicate call. Does he throw a 6ft 5in centre-forward straight into the intensity of the Premier League with only training-ground minutes in his legs? Or does he hold him back, protect the shin, and accept a slower integration for a player signed to be a central pillar of the attack?
All of this makes the coming days critical. United still have time to squeeze in a pre-season appearance for Sesko if his rehabilitation continues to progress. One outing, even a short one, would change the tone around his situation and offer a glimpse of the front line Carrick wants to build.
For now, though, the picture is stark. Tielemans boards the plane to Gothenburg, Fernandes leads the group, PSG await under the Scandinavian summer sky — and the striker many expected to spearhead United’s new era remains on the treatment table, racing the clock before the season starts to count for real.
