Man United’s Benjamin Sesko out for a few weeks, Ruben Amorim says ahead of Everton clash

MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United will be without striker Benjamin Sesko for “a few weeks” boss Ruben Amorim confirmed on Nov 21 ahead of a Nov 24 Premier League clash against visiting Everton.

Sesko, who picked up a knee injury in United’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in their last game before the international break, joins Harry Maguire on the sidelines, while Kobbie Mainoo remains a doubt after missing training on Nov 21.

“It’s not that serious,” Amorim told reporters referring to Slovenia international Sesko. “Have to be careful. In a few weeks, expect to have him. Maguire is not ready. Kobbie Mainoo didn’t train today, but we hope he will (on Nov 22).”

The Portuguese coach is hopeful Sesko will return in time for the departures of Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) and Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast) for the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on Dec 21.

“More or less at the same time (they leave), I don’t want to say for sure, but when they are going to the camp I expect to have Ben back,” Amorim said.

He added that United were trying to negotiate later travel dates for AFCON duty for Mbeumo and Diallo, who will not be available for several United games over the busy Christmas period.

“We have the rules when we will have to release the players. We are trying to have the players a bit longer, but we will see,” he said. 

According to Fifa regulations, players must be released by their clubs and start to travel no later than the morning of Nov 24 in the week preceding the week the tournament begins, which would be December 8 for AFCON.

“We will try to arrange something with the federation,” Amorim said.

United are seventh on 18 points, just a point off the top four, while Everton are three points behind them in 13th.

While only three of United’s next 10 games feature teams in the top 10, Amorim dismissed talk of an easier schedule.

“It doesn’t matter, everything is so tight that that is irrelevant,” he said. “And if you know the history of our team, you never know where is the difficult game.”

The Nov 24 fixture at Old Trafford marks a year to the day since Amorim’s first match in charge.

“The first thinking was the environment was really different in the Premier League and I was excited in that,” he said of his early days.

“Right away, I knew we would struggle in some things, but the feeling was it is the best league in the world, maybe the best club.”

While United have shown signs of improvement recently, with three wins and two draws in their last five matches, Amorim said consistency was key. 

“Yeah, I think we are showing that but the important thing is that it doesn’t matter what we did in the recent games,” he said. “We cannot forget we suffered a lot in those games and play every game like it is the last one.

“(We are) more dominant, playing better football and more competitive in every way.” REUTERS