Slovenia manager Bostjan Cesar has raised concerns over Benjamin Sesko's continued absence from his national team as the Manchester United striker once again finds himself at the centre of club versus country tensions.
Sesko will miss Slovenia's upcoming friendlies against Cyprus and Croatia in June due to a shin injury he aggravated against Liverpool at the start of this month that kept him out of United's final three games of the season.
While Cesar insists he has no problem with the player's withdrawal on this occasion, he has questioned Sesko's absence from the last national team squad in March. United's £73.7 million summer signing missed the games against Hungary and Montenegro because United were nursing him through the initial shin problem. However, Cesar noted that he still played in games for his club against Bournemouth and Leeds either side of the international break.
It followed an absence in November for the games against Kosovo and Sweden due to a knee injury, meaning Sesko has missed three call-ups in a row and not represented his country since October 13 despite playing in 32 of United's 40 games this season.
Cesar, who warned in March that Slovenia would not be pushed around over Sesko's availability, faced questions over the 22-year-old's commitment at a press conference on Monday when he was asked if the United star would only play in the most important international games. Sesko was recently spotted out in Manchester celebrating the last home game of the season with his teammates.
'He missed the last assembly in March and then I kind of wanted him to be absent from United for a while, but then he came back quickly and I don't think he missed a game for the club,' said Cesar, who took over as head coach in January. 'But if a player hasn't been in a competitive rhythm for a month, then I don't see the point in him coming and playing at half-strength.'
Cesar revealed that Sesko had wanted to join up with his teammates, and it's understood that the player remains fiercely committed to the national team. He travelled to Ljubljana for the new coach's training camp in March despite the injury, and met the Slovenian ambassador to the UK last week.
But Cesar and his medical staff decided that it was best for Sesko not to report for duty this time after consulting with United. He added: 'In cases of injuries, the national team receives all the documentation, and then we decide together with their doctors what is best.'
