Michael Carrick has hinted Benjamin Sesko could return to the squad to face Hull in the Premier League on Saturday. However, there are doubts over Mason Mount, while Matthijs de Ligt has been ruled out of the game.
Sesko's recovery from shin injury
Sesko did not make a single appearance during pre-season as he recovered from a shin injury. However, he returned to full training with the group at Carrington at the beginning of this week.
The striker played through the injury last season, but it was aggravated during the win against Liverpool at Old Trafford in May, forcing him to stay behind at Carrington while United played six pre-season matches this summer.
Although Sesko is not in line to start against Hull due to his lack of match fitness, his recovery is at least a boost for Carrick, who could be without Mount as he recovers from a knock picked up in pre-season.
De Ligt and Mount injury updates
De Ligt remains unavailable as he progresses through his rehabilitation following back surgery. The defender has returned to training, but United will handle the final stages of his recovery carefully. United's new signing Karl Darlow is in contention to make the squad after training this week.
When asked for a team news update ahead of the opening game of the season against Hull, Carrick said: "Yeah, Karl [Darlow] has trained this week. He's back training, so he's in good shape.
"Matt [De Ligt] has obviously been out for a long period of time, but he's training and great to have him back. Well, he won't be involved, but he's in good shape and moving in a good direction. So that's really a good bonus for us really at this stage to have him back.
"Ben [Sesko] is back training. So that's again another positive. Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes as well.
"And then we are managing Mason [Mount] a little bit, but he's very close, so it's touch-and-go for the weekend really, if not going into next week."
The initial suggestion was that Mount's injury was just a knock, but he will have missed three games, including two pre-season friendlies, if he were absent again this weekend.
Carrick on Mount's fitness and season ahead
"I think, first of all, Mason is a top player. Top player," Carrick said when asked about his injury record. "I think we've seen that so far pre-season. He was one of our best players in the early stages in the games that he played in. I thought he was fantastic. So not surprising, it's what I've seen before, what I expect, what I know of him. And he's picked up a little bit of a knock.
"There's no drama. It's maybe, it's been a week or so, 10 days or whatever it's been. So it's nothing major. Yeah, of course, he's missed some football over recent years and he wants to be fit, he wants to be in that full rhythm, and he wants to stay fit.
"So we're doing our best to help him do that, but he's a top player, Mason. It's the same as the group. We've got to manage the squad. There's going to be injuries through the season.
"We've got to have a squad that's strong enough to have a really good top starting team with the depth to carry us through the season. Mason will be back very, very soon, if not immediately, so it's all good."
United will make the visit to Hull for the first time since 2017. The Tigers secured promotion back to the Premier League last season after spending nine years in the second tier, returning to the top-flight by winning the play-offs.
"As you'd expect, really looking forward to another season, you know," said Carrick. "They come thick and fast, so it's about making the most of everything that's in front of us really.
"And really encouraged with the work we've done in pre-season on the training ground, mostly in the games I think's been really good. So yeah, very much looking forward to the first game and a tough one on Saturday."
