Michael Carrick has confirmed that six Manchester United players are ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League match against Como, with Lisandro Martinez the most likely to return for the weekend.
Lisandro Martinez, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven and Marcus Rashford all missed the final training session at Carrington before the squad flew to Italy. Carrick was already without Patrick Dorgu, Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte due to long-term injuries, while Leny Yoro is suspended after his red card against Atletico Madrid in the previous Champions League outing.
Mixed Bag of Injuries and Illness
Speaking to reporters, Carrick described the situation as a 'mixed bag', with Martinez closest to a return. "Licha is not too bad but he's not with us. We'll have to see if he's ready for the weekend," he said. "Kobbie were looking at another 10 days or so. Luke a little bit longer than that."
"A little bit of injury and illness in the camp. Ayden is ill and Marcus is still feeling a hip issue we're trying to overcome," Carrick added.
Transfer Window Regrets?
When pressed on whether he regrets not signing a left-back in the summer, with Shaw's injury forcing a defensive reshuffle, Carrick responded: "Listen, when we've got injuries at different stages we can always look at what could have been done, what we could have been improved."
"I spoke to you about making the best of the transfer window in the situation we had, and this man next to me (Andrey Santos) was a big part of that. Delighted to have him. We had to make decisions in the summer and we did what we could do and made the best of it. There's been injuries, Pat as well getting injured, it tends to happen at times where it hits you in the same place."
Sesko Recovery and De Ligt Return
On Benjamin Sesko's recovery, Carrick said: "We're hoping soon that we have a clear picture. I'm not trying to delay it, hopefully by the end of the week we will have something clearer. There has been some work going on."
United have been boosted by the return of Matthijs de Ligt, who has been out for almost a full year with a back issue. "It's great to have him back, he's had such a long journey of 11 month or so out," Carrick said. "Been patient, worked hard, delighted to have him back, he's fit, he's ready."
