Manchester United Squad Update: Benjamin Sesko Omitted for PSG Friendly

Manchester United will take a strong squad – but not a full one – into Saturday’s glamour friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg, and one omission is starting to gnaw at the fanbase.

Benjamin Sesko is staying at home. Again.

Tielemans travels, Sesko stays back

Michael Carrick has named a 22-man travelling party for the meeting with the European champions, a fixture that will act as a key barometer of United’s pre-season progress. New signing Youri Tielemans is in for the first time, skipper Bruno Fernandes leads the group, and the squad has the feel of a side beginning to tune up for competitive football.

Sesko, though, is nowhere to be seen.

The Slovenian striker had been tipped to return in time for this game after aggravating a shin problem against Liverpool late last season, an injury that forced him out of United’s final three matches of the campaign. At the time, the issue was described as minor. The expectation was simple: rest, recover, reset in pre-season.

That script has already been torn up.

Rehab steps up, questions pile up

Sesko has not played a single minute this summer. He has been spotted at Carrington, present but not fully involved, working away from the main group as his rehabilitation programme ramps up.

According to Manchester Evening News reporter Steven Railston, the club remain calm about his status. Writing on X, Railston stressed that Sesko is still on course to be available for the start of the new season and that his work at Carrington has intensified.

Inside the club, the message is clear enough: no need to panic.

Outside it, patience is wearing thinner.

There is still no confirmation on whether Sesko will link up with United’s training camp in the Republic of Ireland next week. For a player whose importance to the attacking structure is obvious – a 6 ft 5 in centre-forward with mobility and presence, coming off a season of 32 games, 12 goals and 1 assist in 1,817 minutes – the lack of concrete timelines feels unsettling.

Echoes of De Ligt

Supporters have started to draw uncomfortable comparisons with last season’s handling of Matthijs de Ligt. The Dutch defender was initially expected to miss a single match; he ended up watching the final six months of the campaign from the sidelines.

No one inside United is putting Sesko in that bracket. The word around his injury has always been that it is not serious. Yet the weeks tick by, the pre-season fixtures come and go, and the No.30 remains a spectator.

Something about the whole situation feels out of sync with the early messaging, and fans have noticed.

Fit for the opener – but ready?

The working assumption remains that Sesko will be fit when the new campaign kicks off. That is one thing. Match sharpness is another.

By the time the season starts, the striker will have missed almost the entire pre-season schedule. Even if he squeezes in a late appearance before the opener, he will go into competitive action without the rhythm that these summer games are designed to provide.

Carrick now faces a delicate call. Does he rush his towering forward into a friendly as soon as he is cleared, just to get minutes into his legs? Or does he hold him back, protect the shin, and accept that United’s main striker will need to play his way into form when the real games begin?

United’s preparations for PSG will go on without Sesko. The real test comes not in Gothenburg, but on the first weekend of the season, when the team sheet drops and everyone finds out whether the club’s calm words on their No.30 match the reality on the pitch.