Benjamin Sesko's Injury Update: Manchester United's Forward Set to Return
Benjamin Sesko is on course to be back leading Manchester United’s line before a competitive ball is kicked this season, with the club satisfied his shin injury is healing exactly as planned.
The 23-year-old has sat out United’s opening pre-season friendlies against Wrexham and Rosenborg, but that absence was built into his rehabilitation schedule rather than a late setback. Staff at Carrington are understood to be pleased with his progress, with no sense of alarm behind the scenes.
Sesko first damaged his shin before aggravating the problem in the 3-2 win over Liverpool on May 3. United kept details deliberately vague at the time, but the expectation now is that the final three matches of last season — which he missed — will be the only competitive fixtures he sits out because of the issue.
The Slovenia international stepped up his work last week, returning to outdoor training as he eyes his first minutes of the summer. There is a realistic chance he features in some capacity against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on Saturday, a useful staging post on the way to full sharpness.
Upcoming Matches
United’s plan is bolder for the following game. Sesko is likely to start against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg on August 8, a fixture earmarked as a key test of his readiness. From Sweden, United will fly to Dublin for a six-day training camp as the build-up to the new campaign tightens.
Leeds United await at Croke Park on August 12 in United’s penultimate friendly, before attention turns fully to the Premier League opener away to Hull City on August 22. The intention is clear: Sesko fit, firing and installed as the focal point of the attack by the time the league season begins.
His enforced break has opened a window for Joshua Zirkzee, who started both matches against Wrexham and Rosenborg. Those appearances came despite United being open to moving the Dutchman on. Any permanent deal, though, sits on difficult financial ground. United would need around £21 million simply to avoid a loss on a player signed for £36.5m in July 2024, a figure that narrows the field of realistic buyers.
Interest has not vanished. Zirkzee, 25, has long attracted admiring glances from Serie A, and a loan back to Italy remains the most plausible route if United decide to clear space in the forward department.
Striker Plans
Behind all of this sits the club’s broader striker plan. United want another centre-forward to support Sesko through a long season, but have pushed back on suggestions they made an early move for Danny Welbeck. The club denied any contact with the Brighton forward before Chelsea advanced their own interest.
Welbeck, who scored 14 goals for Brighton last season, has never hidden his openness to a return to Old Trafford. His contract on the south coast runs only until next year, a detail that inevitably sharpens speculation around his future. Chelsea, though, have now stepped in for the 35-year-old, potentially dragging one of United’s most straightforward romantic subplots towards Stamford Bridge instead.
As United edge towards the new season, the picture up front is starting to take shape: Sesko on the mend and pencilled in as the main act, Zirkzee auditioning for his next move, and Welbeck’s long-mooted homecoming seemingly in someone else’s hands.
