Sesko could be sidelined until after Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo depart for the Africa Cup of Nations
Sesko is set to be out for about three weeks due to a knee injuryopen image in gallery
Sesko is set to be out for about three weeks due to a knee injury (Getty Images)
Your support helps us to tell the story
Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Manchester United will be without Benjamin Sesko for about three weeks with the knee injury he suffered in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham.
And manager Ruben Amorim admitted he could be short of forwards for the December game against Wolves which Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are set to miss because of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Amorim is confident that Sesko has avoided a major injury but will be without the £73m signing for Monday’s clash against Everton as well as forthcoming matches with Crystal Palace and West Ham, though he hopes the Slovenian might return for the meeting with Wolves.
Top scorer Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui are likely to have to go to Africa on 7 December and could be absent for up to six weeks while Sesko, who has scored two goals in 12 games for United, could return around then.
“More or less at the same time, I don’t want to say for sure but when they are going to the camp I expect to have Ben back,” Amorim said. “He is going to stay a few weeks out, I don’t know how long but it is not that serious, we need to be careful with him. He is doing the recovery. He is doing better.”
Amorim is hopeful United can persuade Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Morocco respectively to delay the departures of Mbeumo, Amad and Mazraoui as he risks being short of players for the meeting with the relegation-threatened Wolves.
"It's not ideal because they are so important in our team and we don't have a long squad," he said. “We have the rules. When we have to release the players, we'll see. We are doing our job to try to maintain the players a little bit longer, but it's not just in our hands. So we'll try to arrange something with the federations, but we need to respect their wills in this case.”
open image in gallery
(Getty Images)
United will definitely be without defender Harry Maguire for the Everton game and is waiting to see if midfielder Kobbie Mainoo will be able to return to the squad.
Centre-back Lisandro Martinez, who has not played since being stretchered off against Crystal Palace in February, is in contention to make his comeback.
“I feel Licha is coming close to being able to play,” Amorim added. “We need to be careful. He's going to struggle in the first minutes, but he's clearly in a better position if you compare it to two weeks ago.”