Michael Carrick’s attacking options dwindle as the Slovenian striker faces a prolonged absence, with chronic shin issues threatening to derail the Red Devils' already stuttering season.
What is Michael Carrick's best XI after the international break is over?
More Videos
Manchester United have endured a difficult opening to the 2026/27 campaign, winning just twice across their opening seven fixtures in all competitions.
The Reds began with a defeat to Hull City before bouncing back with a 5-2 win over Ipswich Town, with Bruno Fernandes netting a hat-trick. A 4-0 Champions League victory over Sabah FK followed, but United have struggled for consistency since.
A 2-2 draw with Everton was followed by consecutive home defeats to Manchester City and Brighton. The Brighton loss was particularly painful, as United surrendered a 2-0 lead before crashing out of the Carabao Cup.
Michael Carrick's side then drew 1-1 with Fulham in their final game before the international break. Fulham are still without a league win, while Matheus Cunha's late equaliser spared United another defeat after Lisandro Martínez's comical own goal.
United dealt Šeško injury blow
United's inconsistent start to the season has, in part, been due to a number of injuries sustained by key players, which has left Carrick's options thinner than he would haveotherwise liked.
The likes of Amad, Carlos Baleba, and Matthijs de Ligt are yet to play this season, while striker Benjamin Šeško has only started two games, having only played a bench role so far in the Premier League.
After starting in the loss againts Brighton, the Slovenian internationla missed the draw against Fulham after reaggrevating a shin issue that kept him out of the pre-season tour, with reports stating he is due to undergo tests on Monday afternoon.
However, in yet another blow for Carrick, reports from Slovenian outlet Ekipa, Šeško, who will miss the upcoming SLovenia international ixtures, could be out for longer than initially anticipated due to the nature of his injury.
"It doesn’t look good because of history and past patterns, but it doesn’t look good either according to the logic of sports injuries, among which the most annoying, unpredictable and persistent are those that cannot – to put it very simply – be simply repaired, patched, sewn or bandaged, however you want," the outlet explained.
"What is so worrying is that all these conditions, which can cause a bone to hurt for so long despite the complete absence of a classic fracture or something similar, are usually chronic.
"This means that not only can they, by definition, drag on from March to September (and apparently soon into October), but they also have a very uncertain prognosis for the future.
"We will not go into various inflammations, problems with the internal structures of the bones and blood circulation – we have very little knowledge about all this."
Further, GiveMeSport have reported that United will learn the extent of his injury following medical tests, with Planet Nogomet claiming the striker will undergo an MRI scan in London.
As injuries ravage Old Trafford, the imminent returns of Matthijs de Ligt and new signing Carlos Baleba promise to stabilise a defence in crisis and spark a stagnant midfield.roundtable.ioMichael Carrick's Best XI: The Three Stars Who Will Change Man Utd Haven't Played This Season
As injuries ravage Old Trafford, the imminent returns of Matthijs de Ligt and new signing Carlos Baleba promise to stabilise a defence in crisis and spark a stagnant midfield.
Who should start as the striker?
So far this season, it has been Cunha who has operated in the central role across the five Premier League fixtures, although his performances have been underwhelming. Despite Šeško's injury, Amad's return following the international break could provide a welcome boost for Michael Carrick.
The Ivorian winger was ruled out for around six weeks at the beginning of last month, and if he returns on schedule, he could slot straight back onto the right flank.
That would finally allow Carrick to move Bryan Mbeumo back into the striker role, where he impressed during pre-season before being shifted to the right following Amad's injury ahead of the defeat to Hull City.
With Cunha, it was no surprise to see the Brazilian immediately score after returning to the left flank against Fulham, given how effective he was in that position last season.
Amad's return would therefore allow Cunha to remain on the left, while Mbeumo could move back through the middle and reclaim the striker role where he looked so dangerous during pre-season.