Manchester United are still unsure how long Benjamin Sesko will be sidelined after the striker suffered another injury setback. The Slovenian is dealing with a shin injury and suffered another setback just weeks after returning from nearly four months out with a similar complaint.
United may look to surgery to resolve the persistent issue troubling the £73million forward, though club medical staff are still weighing up the most appropriate course of treatment.
Recurring Shin Problem
Sesko had been battling a shin problem towards the tail end of last season, sitting out the March international break as he played through the pain before making the problem worse against Liverpool at the beginning of May.
The 23-year-old sat out the entirety of pre-season and only made his return on the opening day of the campaign, having missed three-and-a-half months of action.
Fresh Discomfort
He has featured in matches against Sabah in the Champions League and Brighton in the Carabao Cup, but reported fresh discomfort in his shin following the latter fixture and now faces another stint on the treatment table, according to the Manchester Evening News.
"It's not the exact issue, it's a similar area, but it's not the exact same thing again," said head coach Michael Carrick. "And we're kind of still working through it a little bit to see how long the issue will be. We're hoping that it'll be soon, obviously, but at this moment it's still not quite clear."
When asked whether surgery could be an option for the club, Carrick said: "Yeah, there's different things to look at. I think he recovered really well actually from the initial one, and there was a lot of time, and sometimes things get thrown up, the body does certain things and we've got to react to that and try and get him back as quick as we can."
Baleba Nearing Return
While Sesko will be absent for the Tottenham clash, £70million midfielder Carlos Baleba could be in line for his first appearance. He was named amongst the substitutes against Fulham three weeks ago without featuring, but did clock some minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne-Sport just over a week ago.
"He's certainly getting closer, Carlos. It's been great to have him out on the grass and to see him up close really, and played a little bit in a training game that we had last week, so that was good for him to get some minutes," Carrick said.
"I think the other side of it, a little bit, he has missed a lot, and he's missed crucial time in terms of, you know, the end of pre-season, and there's a little bit of patience there for him to get up to speed. That's up to us to kind of pick that right time for him as well, but he offers us a lot. You know, I've said it before, the midfield that we've got we're really happy with, and the selections and the options that we have, and he definitely adds to that."
