Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko withdraws from Slovenia squad with shin injury
Manchester United have confirmed striker Benjamin Sesko must undergo tests after withdrawing from the Slovenia squad with a shin injury — the same problem that ruled him out of the end of last season and the whole of pre-season.
Sesko was a notable absentee as United drew 1-1 with Fulham on Sunday, with Matheus Cunha's deflected strike salvaging a point for the Red Devils following Lisandro Martinez's calamitous own goal. In a medical update released on Monday, United said: "Benjamin will undergo tests this week before defining his individual recovery plan."
A recurring problem
Having joined from RB Leipzig in a £74m deal last August, Sesko scored 12 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions last term — a tally matched only by Bryan Mbeumo among his United team-mates, despite 13 of the Slovenian's outings coming from the bench.
The 23-year-old, however, missed the final few games of 2025-26 as well as United's entire pre-season campaign with a shin problem, and the issue has now flared up again. Sesko has played six times for Michael Carrick's side this season, scoring twice, though he has started only twice — against Sabah in the Champions League and Brighton in the EFL Cup.
In the aftermath of last week's cup defeat to Brighton, Carrick revealed that the same issue was bothering Sesko again, and the striker has now pulled out of international duty as a result.
Slovenia blow and United timeline
Sesko had initially been named in Bostjan Cesar's party for Nations League fixtures against Scotland — whom they will face home and away — plus North Macedonia and Switzerland, but will now play no part as he returns to Carrington for assessment.
The timing is not disastrous for United: Sesko has almost three weeks of recovery time if he is to feature in their next Premier League game, against bottom club Tottenham on October 10. Carrick's men also face Leeds United, Bournemouth and Chelsea in the league next month, having made their joint-worst start to a Premier League season through five matchdays — five points, matching their return in 2014-15.