Plenty of fitness-related uncertainty surrounds Manchester United ahead of Gameweek 6.
Carlos Baleba, an unused sub in Gameweek 5 on his return from an ankle issue, got minutes under his belt in last Friday’s friendly with Lausanne.
However, the hush-hush nature of that kickabout, and the lack of images from it, means it’s not certain whether Amad Diallo (unspecified), Benjamin Sesko (calf) and/or Matthijs de Ligt (back) featured.
There was a suggestion that de Ligt did, and the defender indeed travelled with his teammates to Fulham in Gameweek 5, albeit not as a member of the 20-man matchday squad. The Manchester Evening News suggests the Dutchman could be on the bench in the upcoming UEFA Champions League ties.
Elsewhere, Noussair Mazraoui (back) and Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) pulled out of their respective national team squads midway through the break.
Karl Darlow, Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford had done likewise before a ball was kicked, with United saying they would “be assessed and undergo individual recovery plans”.
It’s not known how serious any of their issues are, but Michael Carrick may enlighten us in Friday’s press conference.
Manuel Ugarte (knee) and Tom Heaton (hamstring) are also on United’s lengthy injury list.
