Manchester United forward Benjamin Sesko was forced off during the second half of Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United head into the international break with contrasting feelings following their draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Benjamin Sesko became a worry for United during the match, with the striker forced off in the 85th minute despite only being introduced around the hour mark. Early fears from Ruben Amorim after the final whistle focused on Sesko potentially sustaining a knee problem.
United secured a point against Spurs after Matthijs de Ligt levelled in added time following Richarlison’s earlier strike for the hosts in North London. United must now endure an anxious wait to learn the full severity of Sesko’s possible injury.
Here, we examine what has been reported and discussed regarding Sesko’s potential injury concern for United.
‘Medical assessment completed’
Reports from Slovenia suggest that Sesko has already undergone preliminary examinations to assess the extent of any potential injury the striker may have sustained.
Sportklub have reported that initial tests on Sesko’s possible injury did not reveal a “worrying condition” but noted that additional evaluations are still required to reach a complete diagnosis for the problem, including an MRI scan.
It remains unclear whether Sesko will join his Slovenia colleagues for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Kosovo during the international break.
Ruben Amorim verdict
Following United’s draw with Tottenham, Amorim was questioned about the potential injury to Sesko. The United manager confessed that he was still unsure about the severity of the situation.
“We have to check. He had something in his knee, let’s see,” he said. “I have no idea. Because it’s the knee, we never know,” Amorim further commented when asked if Sesko had sustained a serious injury.
The United boss concluded: “I’m more concerned with an injury because it’s in the knee and I don’t know. We need Ben to be a better team.”
January transfer plans
Amorim was also quizzed about whether Sesko’s potential serious injury could impact United’s plans for the January transfer window.
The forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is expected to leave Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui unavailable for potentially several weeks, prompting questions about possible transfer strategies.
“We have to check everything, we have to check what has happened with Ben,” Amorim said.
“Of course, we are going to have a problem there [with AFCON], but we already knew. Then you can prepare that in the summer, but then you have a lot of players in the summer who are not going to play because it’s one game per week. So the management of that situation is going to be hard.
“But let’s see when the window is open, if we can improve the team and try to prepare something that happened. Until then, we have to take the chance.”