Michael Carrick has confirmed that five Manchester United players will miss Wednesday's Champions League clash with Como, adding to an already depleted squad.
Lisandro Martinez, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven and Marcus Rashford all missed the final training session at Carrington before the squad travelled to Italy. Carrick was already without Patrick Dorgu, Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte through long-term injuries, while Leny Yoro remains suspended after his red card against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Mixed Injury News
Asked for an update on the latest absentees, Carrick described the situation as a 'mixed bag', with Martinez the most likely to return for Sunday's fixture against Bournemouth.
"Licha is not too bad but he's not with us. We'll have to see if he's ready for the weekend," Carrick said. "Kobbie, we're 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."
Defensive Concerns
The injury crisis has left United without centre-backs Martinez, Heaven and Yoro, leaving Carrick with just Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt as senior options. Carrick was questioned about whether he regrets the club's failure to secure a left-back during the summer transfer window, with Shaw's absence forcing a defensive reshuffle.
"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," the Red Devils boss replied. "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."
Positive Return
Carrick also addressed Sesko's recovery, explaining: "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 received a boost with the return of De Ligt, who had been sidelined for nearly a full year due to a serious back complaint. "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."
