Manchester United Injury Update Ahead of Premier League Opener
Michael Carrick has revealed Manchester United could welcome at least one key name back from injury for their Premier League opener at Hull City – but several big hitters are still set to sit it out.
United launch their 2026/27 campaign on Saturday lunchtime with fitness calls hanging over Benjamin Sesko, Mason Mount and Matthijs de Ligt, while Hull have problems of their own with as many as eight players unavailable.
Mount “touch-and-go” for Hull
Mount’s situation is the most finely poised. The midfielder picked up a minor issue during pre-season and has been carefully handled in recent days.
“We are managing Mason a little bit, but he's very close, so it's touch-and-go for the weekend really, if not going into next week. There's no drama,” Carrick said. “It's maybe, it's been a week or so, 10 days or whatever it's been. So it's nothing major.”
Mount missed training earlier this week and, despite the relatively short lay-off, is expected to be left out of the squad at the MKM Stadium as United take a cautious approach at the start of a long season.
De Ligt ruled out, Sesko back on the grass
De Ligt’s return will have to wait. The Dutch defender has been sidelined for a lengthy spell but is finally back in full training at Carrington, a sight Carrick clearly welcomed.
“Matthijs has obviously been out for a long period of time, but he's training, and it's great to have him back,” the United head coach said. “Well, he won't be involved, but he's in good shape and moving in a good direction. So that's really a good bonus for us really at this stage.”
The pressure for positive news in attack brings Sesko into focus. The striker, who also ended last season in the treatment room, has rejoined the group and is edging towards a competitive return.
“Ben is back training. So that's again another positive. Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes as well,” Carrick added.
Whether those minutes come at Hull or later in August remains to be seen, but the tone around Sesko is notably more optimistic than it was at the back end of last season.
Darlow close, Ugarte and Heaton sidelined
Summer signing Karl Darlow has shaken off his own issue and is back in training. He could feature on the bench as goalkeeping cover, giving Carrick another fresh option in his matchday squad.
Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton, though, are both expected to miss out, trimming United’s depth for the opening weekend and placing more responsibility on those who have come through pre-season unscathed.
Hull hit by injury list of their own
If United’s medical bulletin is mixed, Hull’s is downright grim. Sergej Jakirovic is braced to be without eight players for the visit of Carrick’s side, including four recent arrivals.
Jack Butland, Oscar Zambrano, Joe Gelhardt and Hidemasa Morita are all carrying problems heading into the new campaign, disrupting Hull’s plans to bed in their summer business from day one.
Morita offers a sliver of encouragement. The midfielder has returned to training and could, in theory, make his debut against United. The more realistic scenario is that Jakirovic holds him back for the Carabao Cup next week, when the schedule begins to bite and fresh legs become a necessity rather than a luxury.
Both managers, then, walk into opening day with compromises and calculations. The question now is who manages their absentees better when the whistle blows and the season finally starts to count.
