Michael Carrick's Midfield Dilemma: Baleba's Injury Impact

Michael Carrick will have to keep waiting for his powerhouse midfielder.

Carlos Baleba, Manchester United’s £70 million summer signing, is not expected to feature again before the international break, delaying one of the most anticipated debuts of the club’s new era under INEOS.

Baleba ruled out of derby and more

The 22-year-old, United’s third midfield recruit of the window and fourth senior arrival after Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow, has been sidelined since suffering an injury earlier in the summer.

While Santos and Tielemans both started on the opening day against Hull, Baleba has been stuck watching from the stands, his introduction repeatedly pushed back.

There had been quiet optimism that the Cameroonian could time his return for the Manchester derby. That target has gone. According to Manchester Evening News reporter Tyrone Marshall, Baleba will not be available for the clash with Man City.

The setback doesn’t stop there. The same report indicates he is also expected to miss Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against former club Brighton and next Sunday’s Premier League trip to Fulham.

So the picture is clear: Baleba will remain out until after the extended international break, with October pencilled in as his real starting point in a United shirt.

The date in bold on his calendar? October 10, when Tottenham visit Old Trafford in the Premier League. That is the fixture he is now aiming for.

Carrick’s midfield puzzle

Baleba’s absence has narrowed Carrick’s options in the opening weeks of the season. The head coach has leaned on a Youri Tielemans–Kobbie Mainoo pairing in the middle, with Santos the primary alternative from the bench.

On paper, that duo offers plenty of guile. On the pitch, it has also exposed what United lack.

With Baleba out and Santos the only recognised midfield enforcer available, Carrick has still chosen to leave the Brazilian out of his starting XI, trusting instead in the technical blend of Mainoo and Tielemans. The trade-off is obvious: creativity and control, but less bite.

United are missing a midfielder who can impose himself physically, carry the ball through pressure, and change the tempo with one surge. That profile is exactly why INEOS pushed ahead with the £70 million deal even after Baleba’s injury, having tracked him for over a year.

They did not sign him for a quick fix. United handed Baleba a five-year contract with the expectation he can grow into a cornerstone of the side for the next decade.

The missing piece

Right now, though, that long-term vision collides with short-term frustration.

Without Baleba, United lack that explosive presence between the lines, the one who can break a press with power as much as with passing. Mainoo and Tielemans knit the game together, but they do not scare opponents physically. Baleba does.

That is why his return is seen inside and outside the club as crucial to completing Carrick’s tactical plan. The idea of a Mainoo–Baleba axis has already taken hold among supporters: one to orchestrate, one to devastate.

For now, it remains theory. United must navigate City, Brighton and Fulham without their new battering ram in midfield.

Come October, the expectation is simple: Baleba finally steps onto the Old Trafford pitch, and the conversation shifts from what he might be to what he actually delivers.