The latest Manchester United injury news ahead of their first match of the 2026/27 Premier League season against Hull City at the MKM Stadium on Saturday lunchtime
Benjamin Sesko is back training with the Manchester United squad ahead of the game against Hull City(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
Michael Carrick has provided an injury update on several Manchester United players ahead of their opening match of the Premier League season against Hull City.
United travel to the MKM Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, a week after their final pre-season friendly against Milan in Wroclaw, Poland. Several squad members were absent for that 4-2 loss to the Serie A side, including Benjamin Sesko, Karl Darlow, Mason Mount, Matthijs de Ligt and Tom Heaton.
Manuel Ugarte also remains a long-term absentee after sustaining a knee ligament injury while representing Uruguay at the World Cup this summer. However, there is more positive news elsewhere.
Benjamin Sesko
United have been without Sesko throughout their pre-season preparations due to a shin problem that brought his debut season with the club to an early end in May. The forward has continued his recovery from that issue throughout the summer, having played through it last season before aggravating it during their victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, and has returned to full training at Carrington this week.
Carrick stated during his press conference on Thursday that Ben is back training, representing another positive, and that he is looking forward to having him back with the group and getting him some game time as well.
Karl Darlow
Summer signing Darlow is yet to make his United debut as the goalkeeper continues his recovery from surgery at the end of last season. The former Leeds United shot-stopper played for them until his contract ran out and also represented Wales in early June before being sidelined over the summer.
Dermot Mee has filled in for Senne Lammens in his absence recently, with Radek Vitek having moved to Middlesbrough and Tom Heaton also unavailable. Carrick, however, now has more encouraging news, stating that Karl has trained this week and is back training, so he is in good shape.
Manuel Ugarte
Knee ligament surgery for an injury sustained while representing Uruguay at this summer’s World Cup leaves Ugarte as United’s only long-term absentee to start this season. The club confirmed his operation went well, adding that he will now begin the rehabilitation stage of his recovery and will be carefully managed by the club’s medical and performance staff.
Ugarte said in the aftermath that he is incredibly grateful to Uruguay and Man Utd for being there for him from the moment it happened. He also expressed a huge thank you to his family, his friends, and everyone who has sent him messages of support during this time, stating he will be back stronger.
Mason Mount
A foot injury sustained during the 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain has kept Mount sidelined since early this month. The midfielder had to leave the pitch 20 minutes into that friendly and was replaced by Tyler Fletcher in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Mount has sat out the two matches since, with the latter starting alongside Andrey Santos in midfield against Leeds. Youri Tielemans then came in to partner with his fellow summer signing last weekend.
Carrick, however, indicated Mount could be available this weekend, stating that they are managing Mason a little bit, but he is very close, so it is touch-and-go for the weekend, really, if not going into next week.
Matthijs de Ligt
In defence, De Ligt is training again following back surgery earlier this year, having sat out the final six months of last season. Nevertheless, his first appearance since late November will not come on the opening day of this season.
Clarifying the situation, Carrick has said that Matt has obviously been out for a long period of time, but he is training and great to have him back. He has confirmed that he will not be involved, but he is in good shape and moving in a good direction, so that is really a good bonus for them, really, at this stage, to have him back.
Tom Heaton
This weekend is when Tom Heaton is due to learn the full extent of the injury sustained against PSG a fortnight ago that appeared minor at the time. Despite there being no major concern initially when Mee replaced the 40-year-old, the problem has turned out to be more serious than first thought.
Heaton is set to face at least a few weeks on the sidelines, which makes Darlow’s return to training even more timely. Carrick expressed optimism about the summer signing being available on the bench against Hull this weekend and would presumably replace Mee as a substitute if now fit enough to do so.