Man Utd play Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday and Michael Carrick confirmed the latest team news in his pre-match press conference.
Mainoo missed the Leeds game due to injury.(Image: 2026 Manchester United FC)
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Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo could be available to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, but Patrick Dorgu and Matthijs de Ligt are still sidelined through injury.
Mainoo was absent against Leeds at the beginning of the week due to a small injury. United believed it was not worth risking Mainoo by including him in the squad after he picked up a small issue in training.
Manuel Ugarte came into the side, but Mainoo could be reinstated to the XI at Stamford Bridge. "Kobbie is doing little bits, he's working toward it, he's doing bits, so there's a decision to be made," said Carrick.
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Last week, Dorgu travelled to the Republic of Ireland for the four-day training camp, but the defender trained individually on grass. Although Dorgu is making progress, he won't be available to face Chelsea.
Carrick said: "Patrick won't be. He's doing well, rehabbing well and he's kind of on track, but he's not with us in terms of training. He's back on the pitch, which is positive and he's doing really well."
Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are unavailable, meaning Ayden Heaven is expected to make his first start under Carrick. "Ayden is in a good place," said Carrick. "He's still young, and he's progressing through the early stages of his career, so I think it's natural for him to play some games and not some others.
"He's training really well, improving and listening. It's natural for a centre-back of his age, and he's ahead of schedule in terms of the games he's played. He trained with England a few weeks ago and did well. He's looking forward to the game, for sure."
When asked whether Heaven and Leny Yoro could be the future, he added: "It's hard to predict the future, but we're delighted to have both of them. And the age they are, playing for such a big club, is not always the case.
"It's not always easy or straightforward, but I think the level they are at right now is a really good stage. The future is the future, they need to keep progressing and we'll give them the opportunity to do that. They are probably in as good as a place you can be at their age for centre-backs."
Speaking about Chelsea, Carrick said: "It's an important game, we're in a good position but we need to keep building on that. It's a tough place to go and we always have tough games down there.
"Most of the time they have been good games in terms of the product, so we'll be ready for that and we take the confidence from what we've built. We didn't get the result against Leeds, but certainly, the way we finished the game and the character we showed, we need to take that into this game."