Manchester United Return to Champions League After 1003 Days, Carrick Discusses Sesko, Shaw and De Ligt

Manchester United are set to host Azerbaijani side Sabah, marking their return to the Champions League stage after 1003 days. Manager Michael Carrick discussed the situations of Benjamin Sesko, Luke Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt at the pre-match press conference.

Sesko close to starting

Sesko came off the bench and scored in Sunday's match against Everton, but he has not started a game since he was substituted at half-time against Liverpool on May 3 due to a shin injury. Carrick said: "Ben (Sesko) is getting close. He has missed a lot of time. It has been a long time since that Liverpool game, and we have to manage him, look after him and get him back to full health. He has had a little over three weeks of completely unrestricted training, and I think you could see that when he came on, he found his rhythm. It was a fantastic goal. He did a lot for us last season, and it was great to see him finish that cross against Everton."

Regarding his upcoming usage, Carrick said: "He will be involved in every game. It is just a question of when he takes the next step, but he is in a good place now."

Luke Shaw misses training

Luke Shaw was not present at Wednesday's training session. Carrick said: "We just gave him an extra recovery day. We will see how he is tomorrow, but it is not an ongoing issue and it is not anything planned. It is just the arrangement after that game. Everyone will have some small issues that need managing, and Luke is the one who needed managing today."

De Ligt was the only senior player absent from training, and he is still recovering from back surgery. Carrick could not provide a specific return date, only saying: "We will have to see. Mata is training very well and is still managing the recovery process. When you have been out for such a long time, in the final stage you keep pushing and pushing, but you have to manage the final step properly. That is important."

Return to the Champions League

Manchester United's last Champions League appearance ended on December 12, 2023, when they were eliminated by Bayern Munich. Now, 1003 days later, the team returns to the competition with a new squad. Carrick believes his team can "do some really good things" in Europe.