Man United Injury Update: Sesko, Mount, De Ligt Ahead of Hull Clash

Manchester United’s pre-season ends today against AC Milan. The real tension, though, is not about the scoreline in Dublin. It’s about who walks off that pitch in one piece with Hull away looming in just seven days.

Michael Carrick’s first Premier League game in charge at Hull was always going to be a marker. Instead of fine‑tuning his strongest XI, he’s juggling an injury list that already contains key names and could yet grow if tonight goes wrong.

Benjamin Sesko hasn’t kicked a ball all summer. Mason Mount has vanished from the final two friendlies. Matthijs de Ligt is still feeling his back. And that’s before you get to the long-term cases.

Injury Updates

Here’s where United stand, one week from the season’s start.

Matthijs de Ligt – Back

De Ligt hasn’t played for United since November. Back surgery cut his season short, and the club have been careful not to rush him.

There is progress. He’s back out on the grass, involved in training, and even travelled to the Republic of Ireland for this week’s camp. That’s a significant step for a player who has spent months in the treatment room.

What there isn’t, yet, is a timeline. No firm date, no pencilled-in fixture. For now, Carrick knows he will start the campaign without his marquee centre-back and must plan as if De Ligt’s return is still some way off.

Possible return date: Unknown

Tom Heaton – Hamstring

Tom Heaton’s problem looked harmless at first. He came off against PSG in Gothenburg, replaced by Dermot Mee, with no sense of alarm on the touchline.

The scans told a different story. As revealed in Notebook, Heaton is now facing “at least a few weeks” out with a hamstring issue that has turned out to be more serious than first thought.

He’ll learn the full extent of the damage next weekend, but United are already bracing for his absence deep into the opening month of the campaign.

Possible return date: Everton, September 6

Mason Mount – Foot

When Mason Mount limped off less than 20 minutes into the clash with PSG, United feared the worst. A new signing, a big role, and an early injury scare.

Those fears eased quickly. Mount left the stadium walking freely, no limp, no protective boot. It looked like a dodged bullet.

Yet he hasn’t kicked a ball since. He missed the friendly against Leeds and hasn’t even made the squad for today’s meeting with AC Milan. For a player expected to be central to Carrick’s attacking plans, that’s a problem.

Carrick won’t throw him straight into the starting XI at Hull after missing the final two warm-up games. The more realistic hope is that Mount makes the bench and offers an option in the second half.

Possible return date: Hull, August 22

Benjamin Sesko – Shin

Sesko’s absence is the great unanswered question of United’s pre-season. The Slovenian striker picked up a shin injury in the win over Liverpool in early May and hasn’t featured since.

The plan, as outlined in Notebook earlier in the summer, was simple: ease him back into one of the final friendlies. That target has slipped. His name is missing again from the squad to face Milan, and with it goes any realistic chance of him starting at Hull.

Bryan Mbeumo is now nailed on to lead the line on opening day. Sesko has been out too long, and match sharpness is nowhere near where it needs to be.

Hull looks a stretch even for a place on the bench. Ipswich, a week later, might be the first realistic chance for him to rejoin a matchday squad.

Possible return date: Ipswich, August 30

Manuel Ugarte – Knee ligament

Manuel Ugarte’s situation is on a different scale entirely. His knee ligament injury, suffered in Uruguay’s World Cup defeat to Spain in June, is the kind that reshapes a career.

He left the pitch on a stretcher on one of the biggest nights of his life. Later, on social media, he called it “the most serious injury a footballer can face” and spoke about hitting “rock bottom” and having to start again.

United know they will be without him for a very long time. His focus is not Hull, or even this season. It’s about recovery, rebuilding, and eventually returning at all.

Possible return date: 2027

Karl Darlow – Unknown

Karl Darlow arrived at United carrying a pre-existing issue and has been quietly working his way back in the background.

The club do not believe it is anything serious, yet he has still not appeared in a single pre-season squad. For a goalkeeper trying to stake a claim in a new dressing room, that’s far from ideal.

His situation is not framed as a major worry, but until he pulls on a shirt and takes his place on a teamsheet, the question mark remains.

Seven days to Hull. One more friendly to navigate. Carrick’s first big victory of the season might not be a result at all – it might simply be getting through tonight without adding another name to this list.