Benjamin Sesko's Injury Update: Ready for Manchester United
Benjamin Sesko is expected to be back leading Manchester United’s line before a competitive ball is kicked this season, with the club confident his shin injury will not bleed into the new campaign.
The 23-year-old has sat out United’s opening pre-season friendlies against Wrexham and Rosenborg, but that absence has been by design rather than alarm. Staff at Carrington insist his rehabilitation is progressing exactly as mapped out, with no setbacks and no change to the original timetable.
Sesko first damaged his shin earlier in the year and then aggravated the problem in the 3-2 win over Liverpool on May 3. United kept the details deliberately vague at the time, but the picture is clearer now: the final three matches of last season, which he missed, are expected to be the only competitive games he loses to the injury.
The Slovenia international stepped back onto the grass last week, resuming outdoor work as he builds towards full training. If his workload continues to ramp up smoothly, he has a realistic chance of featuring in some capacity against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on Saturday.
The real target, though, is Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg on August 8. Sesko is expected to start that game, a key staging post in United’s preparations before the squad flies from Sweden to Dublin for a six-day training camp. There, the focus sharpens: Leeds United at Croke Park on August 12, then the final friendly, and then the serious business — Hull City away on August 22 to open the Premier League season.
His brief spell on the sidelines has opened a window for Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch forward started both matches against Wrexham and Rosenborg, an opportunity that comes against the backdrop of United’s willingness to cash in on him.
Any sale, though, will not be straightforward. United would need around £21 million to avoid taking a loss on Zirkzee, who cost £36.5m when he arrived in July 2024. That figure, coupled with his mixed spell in England, makes a permanent move difficult. Italian clubs, who tracked him before his move to Old Trafford, remain interested, and a loan back to Serie A is currently viewed as the likeliest outcome.
Behind all of this sits United’s wider plan in attack. The club want to bring in another striker to support Sesko, ensuring the burden of goals does not fall on one set of shoulders. They have pushed back, though, on suggestions they made an approach for Danny Welbeck before Chelsea entered the picture.
Welbeck, who scored 14 goals for Brighton last season, has long been open to the idea of a return to Old Trafford. The romance of a homecoming has hovered in the background for years. This time, Chelsea have moved first for the 35-year-old, whose contract at Brighton runs out next year.
So United’s striking puzzle is clear enough. Sesko is on course to be ready. Zirkzee is playing for his future, possibly elsewhere. The hunt for another forward continues, with Welbeck seemingly bound for west London rather than back to Manchester. How sharply Sesko hits the ground running in August may dictate just how urgent that search becomes.
