United have taken steps to get Benjamin Sesko ready for the blockbuster tie vs Arsenal – Athletic

Manchester United are gearing up for their blockbuster Premier League opener against Arsenal, with Ruben Amorim sweating over the fitness of several key stars.

Lisandro Martinez, who missed the last five months of the season due to an ACL injury, has returned to training on the grass but is not expected to be back in time for Sunday’s game.

Both Joshua Zirkzee and Andre Onana missed pre-season due to injury, but both have returned to group training, with the Cameroonian previously claiming he was confident of starting between the sticks against the Gunners.

New signing Benjamin Sesko also needs minutes under his belt, as he did not have a full pre-season under his belt due to transfer speculation.

Behind-closed-doors friendly

As relayed by The Peoples Person, the Red Devils were trying to arrange a behind-closed-doors friendly for their unfit players to get minutes in their legs before the real action started on the pitch.

The Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell has now claimed that a friendly was indeed held at Carrington, and it pitted the United first team against their U21 counterparts.

“Sesko played his first game for Manchester United on Sunday, featuring against the under-21s on a training pitch at Carrington,” the report mentioned.

Other details remain sketchy as of now, and it will be interesting to see whether any more such fixtures are played at Carrington this week.

Sesko’s first appearance

As things stand, the Slovenian is unlikely to start against Mikel Arteta’s side, but we might catch a glimpse of him in the second half, depending on how the game is going.

Whether Amorim opts for Rasmus Hojlund up top, or chooses to play a fluid front-three of Mason Mount, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha, like he did against Fiorentina, will be interesting to see.

The Dane has been linked with a move away from Manchester, with AC Milan in pole position, while other Serie A clubs, and Newcastle are also eyeing his services.

INEOS are currently trying to figure out a way forward to land Carlos Baleba from Brighton and Hove Albion, with the head coach demanding an athletic presence in the middle of the park.

Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images

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