Manchester United will be without Benjamin Sesko until January at the earliest. The 23-year-old has a shin injury, and the club have spent the better part of six weeks trying to work out exactly what sort.
Not shin splints, as it turns out
Sesko has not played since 16 September, when he was taken off in the 66th minute of the Carabao Cup defeat by Brighton. He needed several rounds of tests before anyone could give Michael Carrick a straight answer, and the manager has been asking frequently. Sources say the problem is an impact injury rather than shin splints, which is not quite what everyone had assumed he was dealing with.
It is the same area that cost him the whole of pre-season. It also flared up against Liverpool in May and kept him out of United's last three league games of last season.
The only orthodox number nine at the club
Since arriving from RB Leipzig in August 2025 in a deal worth £73.7m, Sesko has played 38 times for United and contributed 14 goals and an assist. He missed eight matches last season and still finished as their joint-top scorer in the Premier League on 11, level with Bryan Mbeumo. This season he has two, against Everton in the league and Sabah FK in the Champions League. After that second one he talked about the relief of finally being injury free. It did not hold.
His absence matters more than the numbers suggest because he is the only recognised centre-forward Carrick has. Sesko will miss league meetings with Liverpool and Arsenal and at least three Champions League fixtures, and the lack of a central striker has been raised more than once as a reason for United's form.
January is coming either way
Whether this pushes United into the transfer market in the new year is the obvious question, and nobody at Old Trafford is in a position to answer it yet. They sit 16th. Their only league win came against Ipswich on 30 August and they have not won anything in any competition since 10 September.
Around all of that, Bruno Fernandes criticised Carrick's tactics after the 4-1 Champions League loss to Como, was an unused substitute in Sunday's 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth, and then sat down with the manager for clear-the-air talks on Tuesday. Carrick was widely expected to lose his job after the Bournemouth game. He did not, and he takes the team to Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime without a striker.
Transfer context: Benjamin Sesko, 23, Slovenia international, joined Manchester United from RB Leipzig in August 2025 in a deal worth £73.7m. Thirty-eight appearances, 14 goals, one assist. Last played 16 September 2026. United are 16th in the Premier League and travel to Chelsea on Saturday 31 October, kick-off 12:30 GMT.
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