Carrick's Injury Update as Manchester United Face Hull City
Manchester United’s new Premier League season will begin with optimism tempered by caution, after Michael Carrick revealed a clutch of key players are close to returning but not yet ready to be unleashed at Hull City.
United open their 2026/27 campaign in Saturday’s early kick-off, and Carrick confirmed that Benjamin Sesko, Mason Mount and Matthijs de Ligt are all back on the grass. Only one of them, though, has a realistic chance of making the squad.
Mount “touch-and-go” for Hull
Mount’s situation sits somewhere in the middle. The midfielder picked up a minor issue during pre-season and has been carefully handled in recent weeks.
“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 in the week and, despite only a short spell on the sidelines, is expected to sit out the trip to Hull. United are clearly reluctant to gamble on him in the opening game.
De Ligt ruled out despite training boost
The most eye-catching name back in full training is Matthijs de Ligt. The defender has endured a long lay-off after suffering his injury last season, and his return to the main group at Carrington is a significant step.
“Matthijs has obviously been out for a long period of time, but he's training, and it's great to have him back,” he 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.”
United will have to wait a little longer before de Ligt is back in the thick of competitive action, but his progress removes one major concern for the months ahead.
Sesko back with the group
Up front, there is brighter news. Sesko, another who finished last season in the treatment room, has rejoined training and is edging closer to his first minutes of the new campaign.
“Ben is back training. So that's again another positive,” Carrick said. “Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes as well.”
Whether those minutes arrive at Hull or later in August remains to be seen, but United’s attacking options are starting to thicken just as the season kicks off.
Darlow in contention, Ugarte and Heaton out
Summer signing Karl Darlow has also shaken off a knock and is back on the training pitch. The goalkeeper could take a place on the bench at the weekend, offering extra cover between the posts.
Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton, though, are expected to miss out, trimming Carrick’s options as he shapes his first Premier League XI of the campaign.
Hull hit by early injury list
If United’s situation is mixed, Hull’s is downright stretched. Sergej Jakirovic is set to be without eight players for the opener, including four of his new signings.
Jack Butland, Oscar Zambrano, Joe Gelhardt and Hidemasa Morita all carry issues into the start of the season. Morita has returned to training and is edging closer to involvement, but his first appearance is more likely to come in the Carabao Cup next week rather than against United.
So the new season starts as so many do: with managers juggling medical reports, weighing risk against reward, and wondering which of these early calls will define the tone of the months ahead.
