Man United striker ruled out until at least January as Carrick gets one boost before Chelsea

Manchester United are expecting to be without Benjamin Šeško until at least January, and the shin problem that wrecked the end of his first season is now threatening to swallow the first half of his second.

According to The Athletic, the club believe the 23-year-old needs a period of rest to make sure the issue is fully healed. No decision has been made on surgery, and United are confident the problem will settle down on its own given time.

It lands just two days before Michael Carrick takes his side to Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off against Chelsea, a game Benjamin Šeško was always going to miss. The difference now is the timeframe, and what it does to United’s plans for the winter.

Benjamin Šeško injury: how long is he out?

The latest word is January at the earliest. United’s medical staff have reportedly spent recent weeks working with specialists on a treatment plan for the Slovenia international, and the conclusion is rest rather than an operation, at least for now.

This has been dragging on for months. Šeško missed the end of the 2025-26 campaign with the same shin problem and sat out the whole of pre-season because of it.

He did make it back for a spell this term, playing six times in all competitions and scoring twice. But he has now missed United’s last six matches, and the news from The Athletic suggests that run is going to get a lot longer.

A frustrating follow-up to a decent first season

Šeško’s debut campaign at Old Trafford went well enough, with 12 goals in 32 appearances, and plenty expected him to kick on in 2026-27. Instead it has been a stop-start autumn spent mostly on the treatment table.

His absence shows in the scoring charts. Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo are United’s joint top scorers in all competitions with four each. Matheus Cunha has two, the same as Šeško, while Joshua Zirkzee, Shea Lacey, Mason Mount and Lisandro Martinez have also chipped in.

Who replaces Šeško for Chelsea vs Man United?

Mbeumo is expected to carry on through the middle at Stamford Bridge, as he has done while Šeško has been out.

The rest of Carrick’s injury list is not much prettier. Manuel Ugarte, Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu are definitely out alongside Šeško, and Marcus Rashford was missing from training again on Wednesday as he tries to recover from a hip injury. He remains a major doubt, with Everton already linked with a January move for the forward.

Kobbie Mainoo gives Carrick a lift

There was some good news on Wednesday morning. Kobbie Mainoo was back in training with his teammates after missing the last four matches with an unspecified injury, and it had been thought he would miss the Chelsea game too. His presence suggests he could now be involved on Saturday.

Lisandro Martinez is also back in the picture after coming off the bench against Bournemouth on Sunday, having recovered from a thigh injury.

Bruno Fernandes set to return

Captain Fernandes is expected back in the starting XI. He was an unused substitute against Bournemouth after criticising Carrick’s tactics after the Champions League defeat by Como, but the pair are understood to have held clear-the-air talks and the situation has reportedly been resolved.

Carrick, who has kept his job despite the pressure, could still do with a reliable No.9. Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea come into the game off the back of a Carabao Cup shootout exit at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Does the Šeško injury force a January striker signing?

I think it has to. Sports Mole’s view is that Zirkzee clearly has no long-term future at Manchester United, and if Šeško is not back early in 2027, the club will surely need to go shopping for a striker in the winter window.

Signing the right player at the right price mid-season is never easy. But United have leaned on Mbeumo as a makeshift centre-forward for six matches already, and “at least January” is the kind of phrase that tends to stretch. With a squad this thin up front, how they handle the window could end up defining their season.