Carrick reveals United midfielder has picked up a back injury, knock comes at the worst possible time – report

Manchester United made wholesale changes and were quite lucky to escape the Stadium of Light with a point on Saturday. Sunderland were, by far, the better team and were kept at bay by Senne Lammens single-handedly at times. Fringe stars like Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee disappointed while Amad’s downward spiral continued. Michael Carrick made a couple of surprising calls, none more so than playing Mount alongside Kobbie Mainoo, while both Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte missed out. Manuel Ugarte injury fear As revealed by the caretaker head coach to MUTV, the Brazilian’s issue is not too serious, while the Uruguayan picked up a back injury during training. “Case, he’ll be fine for next week, it’s nothing major. Manu had a problem with his back in training, so that’s the issues ironed out.” With Carrick open to handing minutes to underutilised stars, this was the perfect opportunity for the 25-year-old to try and impress. But his injury comes at the worst possible time. Whether the Uruguayan’s injury is a serious one remains to be seen. He has started only once under Carrick, the 1-2 defeat to Leeds. The former Paris Saint-Germain ace has been one of the most disappointing signings in recent history, and INEOS are looking to offload him amid interest from Turkiye, Italy, and the Netherlands. Injury crisis Should their valuation not be met, Manuel Ugarte could be kept on as fourth-choice midfielder, with the Red Devils expected to sign as many as three midfielders in the summer. Another injury concern is that of Benjamin Sesko. He was subbed off at half-time against Liverpool and failed to make the trip to Sunderland despite rumours of him shaking off his knock. On the Slovenian, Carrick said, “Ben’s been carrying a shin problem for some time and he took quite a big bang on it, obviously had to come off last week. So, he wasn’t ready today.” Luke Shaw, who started the draw against the Black Cats, was also spotted limping heavily as he left the ground. This is more cause for concern for the head coach. Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25