Carrick's Injury Update Ahead of United's Season Opener at Hull

Michael Carrick will begin his first full Premier League season in charge of Manchester United with a squad still feeling the bruises of last year – but there is at least a flicker of good news.

United open their 2026/27 campaign at Hull City on Saturday lunchtime, and Carrick confirmed that several big names are edging back, even if most will not be risked on the opening day.

Mount “touch-and-go” for Hull

Mason Mount is the closest of United’s injured trio to a return, though Carrick stopped short of declaring him ready.

“We are managing Mason a little bit, but he's very close, so it's touch-and-go for the weekend really, if not going into next week,” Carrick said. “There's no drama. It's maybe, it's been a week or so, 10 days or whatever it's been. So it's nothing major.”

Mount picked up a minor issue during pre-season and has been carefully handled since. He missed training earlier this week and, despite only being out for a short spell, is expected to sit out the trip to the MKM Stadium.

De Ligt back on the grass but ruled out

The bigger step forward comes with Matthijs de Ligt. The Dutch defender has been sidelined for a lengthy period but has finally rejoined full training at Carrington.

“Matthijs has obviously been out for a long period of time, but he's training, and it's great to have him back,” Carrick said. “Well, he won't be involved, but he's in good shape and moving in a good direction. So that's really a good bonus for us really at this stage.”

So no immediate return, but the sight of De Ligt back on the pitch offers a timely lift for a squad that laboured through the run-in last season.

Sesko steps up, Darlow close to bench role

Up front, Benjamin Sesko is also back with the group after his own lay-off, and Carrick is already eyeing game time for the striker.

“Ben is back training. So that's again another positive. Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes as well,” he said.

Those minutes are unlikely to come in bulk at Hull, but Sesko’s return adds a different threat to United’s attacking options as the season settles into rhythm.

New goalkeeper Karl Darlow has shaken off his own knock and is back in training. He is an outside bet for a place on the bench, offering extra depth behind the first-choice stopper.

Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton, though, are set to miss out, trimming Carrick’s options at both ends of the pitch.

Hull also hit by absences

United are not the only side limping into the new season. Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic is expected to be without eight players, including four summer signings, for the visit of Carrick’s team.

Jack Butland, Oscar Zambrano, Joe Gelhardt and Hidemasa Morita are all carrying problems as the campaign kicks off. Morita has at least returned to training and could be involved soon, but his first real chance of a debut looks more likely to come in the Carabao Cup next week.

So Carrick’s first league line-up of the season will be shaped as much by medical bulletins as tactics. The bigger question is how quickly these returning names can turn promise on the training pitch into points on the board.