Manchester United are set to enter the international break with a new managerial appointment, with an agreement reportedly in place for Mauricio Pochettino to become the next manager. His first game in charge is expected to be against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, November 22.
The club's 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa last weekend left Michael Carrick on the brink of the sack, with United languishing in the Premier League relegation zone. Pochettino, who previously managed Tottenham and Chelsea, faces a tough baptism of fire on Merseyside, with the result depending heavily on the players available for selection.
Harry Maguire and Carlos Baleba
Harry Maguire lasted just 45 minutes against Aston Villa after succumbing to a suspected back problem. Speaking after the game, Carrick told MUTV: "Harry had a bad back. A really bad back spasm that he had with maybe 10-15 minutes to go in the first half. I don't know how bad it is but, going into the internationals, there should be plenty of time for him to recover."
Carlos Baleba, who arrived from Brighton carrying an injury, will now be sidelined for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury picked up against Roma in the Champions League. Asked for an update before the Aston Villa draw, Carrick said: "Carlos we don't know exactly [the severity], but it'll be a number of weeks yet. Definitely not this week and not over the international break, it will be a little bit longer yet."
Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw
Marcus Rashford continues to miss out with a persistent hip injury, which has kept him out since the 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid last month. He will spend the international break building up his fitness. Speaking recently about Rashford's injury, Carrick said: "Marcus, we will just have to see, day by day, how he keeps improving."
Luke Shaw has been sidelined with a muscular problem since the 1-1 draw with Tottenham in United's first game after the autumn international break. He has not yet returned to first-team training. Asked for an update last week, Carrick said: "Luke definitely won't be around this week and fit at that point." Recent reports suggest Shaw is targeting a return against Liverpool.
Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte
Benjamin Sesko has been ruled out until 2027 with ongoing shin injury issues. "We're not exactly sure yet how long [he will be out for], but it's going to be a significant amount of time, unfortunately," Carrick said earlier in the month. "So I feel for Ben, he had the issue at the end of last season that we looked after and tried to give him as much time to recover and then unfortunately he's had the issue coming into this season. So, we've got to do what's best for Ben and he's going to have to have some time on the sidelines, unfortunately."
Manuel Ugarte is set to be out for much of this season with a torn ACL sustained at the World Cup, with a potential return date of summer 2027.
