Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Manchester United could welcome Benjamin Sesko back against Bournemouth, but Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire have been ruled out.
The 22-year-old, who joined from RB Leipzig in August £73.7 million deal, suffered the injury in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur before the international break. He was unable to finish the match after coming on in the second half.
Since then, Amorim has had little choice but to reshuffle his attacking choices, which has led to previously overlooked striker Joshua Zirkzee working his way back into contention.
The manager has now indicated that the Slovenian striker has shaken off the knee problem that has prevented him from playing in United’s last four games. However, he may still be unavailable for Bournemouth’s Monday night trip to Old Trafford after dealing with an illness in recent days.
‘We have to see if he is available’ Amorim told reporters on Friday.
“He had a few [food] poisoning, but we’ll see. Let’s wait.
‘We still have two more training sessions. Benjamin, we will judge.”
Furthermore, Amorim has made it clear that United will undoubtedly be without Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt when they face Bournemouth. Maguire – who, like Sesko, has been missing since the Spurs game due to a hamstring injury – has still not returned to training at Carrington.
Sesko doubtful, Maguire and De Ligt excluded
De Ligt, on the other hand, was forced to sit out the games against West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers after suffering a minor problem that Amorim suspects is related to his back, and the club has no intention of risking him unnecessarily.
“Maguire is out, De Ligt is out,” Amorim said.
‘I think he [De Ligt] has something in his back; I’m not sure.
‘Sometimes you can see that it is not a major injury, because he played well in the match against Crystal Palace, but he is in some pain.
‘You sometimes think that it will be resolved this week, but sometimes he still feels a bit of pain and we have to be a bit careful with that.’
United’s record against Bournemouth in recent seasons has been disappointing, failing to claim a win in four consecutive Premier League meetings (D2 L2), a longer drought than their first twelve meetings with the Cherries (W9 D1 L2).
However, the broader format of competition offers encouragement. Following Monday’s 4-1 win over Wolves, United have lost just once in nine Premier League matches (W5 D3), with that only defeat coming in a 1-0 home defeat to Everton at Old Trafford last week.
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