Manchester United's Injury Concerns Grow with Benjamin Sesko's Withdrawal

Manchester United’s injury list grew longer on Monday as Benjamin Sesko pulled out of international duty with Slovenia, rounding off a bruising day of withdrawals at Old Trafford.

The 23-year-old striker missed Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham after taking a knock to his shin in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton last week. That problem has now ruled him out of Slovenia’s upcoming Nations League double-header against Scotland, as well as fixtures with North Macedonia and Switzerland during a three-week international window.

“Manchester United can confirm that Benjamin Sesko has withdrawn from the Slovenia squad ahead of the upcoming three-week international break,” the club said in a statement. “Benjamin will undergo tests this week before defining his individual recovery plan.”

Sesko’s absence is another setback for a United side already limping into the break. He became the fourth player from the club to withdraw from international duty on Monday alone.

Goalkeeper Karl Darlow has also left the Wales camp, despite being fit enough to sit on the bench at Craven Cottage. His departure capped a grim day for Craig Bellamy, who also lost Leeds winger Harry Wilson to a quad injury and Wrexham forward Nathan Broadhead to a separate issue.

Growing List of Injuries

For United, the list keeps growing.

Sesko and Darlow now join Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo on the early casualty sheet for this international period. Both Rashford and Mainoo were among five players to pull out of the England squad.

Michael Carrick confirmed Rashford picked up what he called an “issue” at Fulham, where the forward was substituted after appearing to struggle with his hip – a problem that had already dogged him over the summer.

Mainoo, who travelled to the World Cup earlier this year but did not feature under Thomas Tuchel, was also taken off late in the draw at Craven Cottage.

United will now spend the break counting scans and test results as much as training sessions. The real question is simple: how many of these names will be back in one piece when the season restarts?