Benjamin Sesko injury 'doesn’t look good'

Manchester United’s season has already thrown Michael Carrick plenty of selection problems, with injuries beginning to test the depth of his squad.

The Reds have been forced to manage several fitness concerns during the early weeks of the season, making the timing of every setback particularly important.

Few positions are more difficult to cover than centre-forward, especially with United still trying to find the right balance between Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko in attack.

Benjamin Sesko had only recently begun to build some momentum after a frustrating summer, finally getting regular minutes under his belt and showing why United spent heavily to bring him to Old Trafford.

The Slovenian had also started to find the net, scoring against Everton before following that up with another goal in the Champions League against Sabah.

Benjamin Sesko deals Manchester United further injury concern

However, Slovenian outlet Ekipa has now reported that the situation surrounding Sesko’s latest injury does not look good, with concerns growing that the Manchester United striker could once again be forced to miss out on international duty.

The concern comes after Sesko was left out of United’s squad for the 1-1 draw with Fulham, having felt pain following the 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton.

Carrick confirmed after the Fulham game that Sesko had felt pain and that United were still assessing the problem, leaving the striker without a clear return date.

More worryingly for United, this is understood to be the same shin issue that caused Sesko such major problems towards the end of last season.

The 23-year-old originally aggravated the problem during United’s 3-2 win over Liverpool on May 3, when a collision with Ibrahima Konate sent him into the advertising boards.

Carrick confirmed at the time that Sesko had been carrying the shin problem for some time before it was aggravated against Liverpool.

That setback forced Benjamin Sesko to miss United’s final three matches of the 2025/26 season.

He then missed the entirety of United’s pre-season schedule while following a rehabilitation programme, sitting out friendlies against Wrexham, Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid before finally returning at the start of the new Premier League season.

Sesko eventually returned as a substitute against Hull City on the opening weekend and gradually began building his fitness after more than three months on the sidelines.

Carrick was delighted with his progress earlier this month, particularly after Sesko scored in the 2-2 draw with Everton before finding the net again in the 4-0 Champions League victory over Sabah.

The United boss highlighted Sesko’s physicality, pace and ability to run in behind, making it clear just how important the striker can be to his plans when fully fit.

Sesko’s first season at United also provided plenty of evidence of his importance, with the striker scoring 12 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions, including 11 Premier League goals and one FA Cup goal.

Now, however, the same problem has returned at precisely the wrong time.

Sesko’s absence from the Fulham squad came just days after starting against Brighton, where he played for around an hour before the issue became a concern again.

United now face a nervous wait over the severity of the injury, with the international break potentially giving Sesko time to recover but also creating a major question over whether he should join up with Slovenia.

If he misses this entire international window, his next opportunity to represent his country would not come until November, potentially leaving him with more than a year between appearances for Slovenia.