“He had a sharp pain…”: National team provides injury update on United star, Carrick will be concerned

Manchester United fans watching the World Cup were left disappointed with Thomas Tuchel’s utilisation of Kobbie Mainoo. The Carrington graduate, who had been overlooked by Ruben Amorim for so long, set the stage alight as soon as Michael Carrick took over. What a second half of the season the Englishman had, and it was no surprise to see him earn a call-up to the England squad for the quadrennial showpiece. With Declan Rice not at his best, fans must have felt the minutes would come for the 21-year-old, especially considering the impact he had in the last European Championships. Kobbie Mainoo had a World Cup to forget However, Tuchel opted to play Jordan Henderson, Reece James and Eberechi Eze in midfield instead of the United star. As soon as the Three Lions lost in the semi-finals, there was a clamour from pundits and fans for the England international not to play the third-place match, which in essence is just a glorified friendly. As luck would have it, Kobbie Mainoo did not even make the matchday squad for the game against France, a match England won 6-4. After the game, Tuchel revealed that the United No.37 had picked up a back injury during training, which prevented him from taking part. Injury update on Kobbie Mainoo “Kobbie was injured in the last training session yesterday morning. He had a sharp pain in the back within the training and he was not ready to play,” the German manager was quoted as saying. Hopefully, the injury is nothing serious and Kobbie Mainoo can return to United’s pre-season camp fit and firing. The 20-time English league champions are already short on quality in the middle of the park, with Mason Mount asked to occupy a deeper role in the absence of Youri Tielemans and that elusive third midfield signing. Kobbie Mainoo will have a point to prove once he does return after the disastrous treatment meted out to him. Carrick needs his midfielders fit and firing The midfield maestro’s game goes up a gear when under fire; just check his performance against Manchester City in Carrick’s first game in charge. The Red Devils also have to contend with injuries to Manuel Ugarte and Lisandro Martinez, with Carrick left sweating to figure out the exact timeline of their returns. Feature image Michael Regan 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