Manchester United Squad Update: Sesko's Absence and Tielemans' Debut
Manchester United head to Gothenburg this weekend with the spotlight fixed not just on Paris Saint-Germain, but on the player who will not be there.
Michael Carrick has named a 22-man squad for Saturday’s glamour friendly in Sweden, a group headlined by captain Bruno Fernandes and featuring new signing Youri Tielemans for the first time in United colours. It should feel like a step forward, a marker in pre-season. Instead, the lingering question is about Benjamin Sesko.
Sesko missing again
Once again, the Slovenian striker is nowhere to be seen.
Sesko, 23, was initially expected to be back in time to face the European champions after aggravating a shin problem against Liverpool late last season, an injury that ruled him out of United’s final three matches of the campaign. At the time, the knock was played down. Not serious. A minor setback. One to be tidied up before pre-season truly began.
Yet United’s No.30 has not kicked a ball in anger this summer.
He has been visible enough. Photographed at Carrington. Moving around the training complex. Present, but not involved. While his team-mates have gone through full sessions and match minutes, Sesko has remained on the outside, still short of joining the main group.
Manchester Evening News reporter Steven Railston moved to calm the mood, reporting that Sesko is “still on track to be fit for the start of the season” and that he has been “stepping up his rehabilitation at Carrington.” Inside the club, the message is consistent: no need to panic.
Outside, the mood is different.
Fans remember De Ligt
The lack of clarity over his schedule has started to grate. United are yet to confirm whether Sesko will travel to the Republic of Ireland for next week’s training camp, and that uncertainty has opened the door to unease among supporters.
They have seen this film before.
Last season, Matthijs de Ligt was initially expected to miss a single game. The problem stretched, then dragged, and eventually swallowed half a year. What began as a minor issue turned into a six-month absence. So when a key forward is described as having a “not too serious” knock and then misses almost an entire pre-season, alarm bells ring.
Sesko’s numbers last season underline why his situation matters. Across 32 appearances, he produced 12 goals and 1 assist in 1,817 minutes, offering presence, movement and a genuine focal point. For a United side still shaping its attacking identity, that profile is not easily replaced.
Race against time for sharpness
The expectation remains that Sesko will be fit for the opening weekend of the new campaign. Fitness on paper, though, is not the same as rhythm on the pitch.
By the time the Premier League starts, the 6ft 5in centre-forward will have missed almost all of United’s pre-season programme. Carrick’s side will have tested themselves against top opposition, tried new combinations, sharpened patterns of play. Sesko, even if medically cleared, will be trying to catch up on the fly.
United still have a window, however small, to get him minutes. The question is whether he appears in any of the remaining warm-up games or goes into the season relying on training-ground work alone.
For now, Tielemans boards the plane, Fernandes leads the group, and PSG await in Gothenburg. Sesko stays behind at Carrington, running, rehabbing, and waiting for the moment when speculation finally gives way to a simple sight United fans badly need: their No.30 back on the pitch.
