'Diplomatic incident' avoided between Manchester United and Slovenian FA

The Slovenia national team are set to be without Benjamin Sesko this international break, as the striker has withdrawn from international duty after sustaining a recent injury.

This weekend saw a dramatic draw for Manchester United as they tied 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur after an initial lead, then a last-minute equaliser after going 2-1 down.

After going 1-0 up after a goal from Bryan Mbuemo, United conceded two late goals from Mathys Tel and Richarlison. Matthijs de Ligt’s 96th minute equaliser saved the day, snatching a point at the jaws of defeat. However, Sesko was nowhere to be seen, with the injury suffered to his knee in the 88th minute after a tackle from Spurs’ Micky van de Ven.

United officials do not think this is a serious injury. However, the matter raised an issue between the club and Sesko’s national side. Slovenia manager Matjaz Kek publicly questioned why he and his medical team were not informed of the knee injury. Kek said he would have preferred that his own doctors take a look at Sesko, demanding ‘maximum respect’ to be shown to his country. Meanwhile, United felt that they had done all the necessary steps.

The Daily Mail has reported that the Slovenian FA have now confirmed that they have accepted United’s decision to keep Sesko in Manchester for further treatment after “Slovenia boss Matjaz Kek had threatened to cause a diplomatic incident”. In addition, the injury is now agreed to be not as serious as first thought.

A spokesperson has discussed the agreement. They said: “The medical team of the Slovenian national football team received the complete medical documentation from Manchester United regarding Benjamin Sesko’s health condition following his injury on Saturday, including the current clinical picture and the examinations performed.”

They continued: “Unfortunately, the injury currently does not allow for the training process. In the coming days, additional examinations and the start of treatment are planned at the club. Benjamin will unfortunately not be able to participate in this national team action. We wish Benjamin a speedy recovery and a return to the football field as soon as possible.”

This is an unwelcome setback for Sesko, given his slow start to life in Manchester. With just two goals in all competitions so far, he has yet to show that he was worth the £73.7 million price tag that United paid RB Leipzig for his services in the summer, however, he is only getting started, acclimatising to the Premier League.