New Manchester United signing Carlos Baleba is set for a spell on the sidelines, with Michael Carrick giving an injury update on the Cameroonian midfielder.
The 22-year-old made a darting run into the Roma box in the Champions League on Tuesday, and just as it looked like he was about to get his shot off, the midfielder pulled up, clutching his hamstring, before toppling onto the ground with a clear injury.
He would walk off the pitch just moments later, replaced by Youri Tielemans, who helped United in their 3-2 comeback
Since his summer switch to United from Brighton, Baleba has managed just 397 minutes of football across seven matches, originally nursing an ankle injury when he joined the club.
United now expect him to be out for a number of weeks, with Baleba not fit to return for United’s Sunday fixture against Aston Villa, nor on international duty with Cameroon over the break.
Carrick provides update on Baleba
In Carrick’s pre-match press conference at midday on Friday, the English head coach offered some insight into Baleba's injury.
“Carlos we don’t know exactly [the severity], but it’ll be a number of weeks yet,” Carrick said.
“Definitely not this week and not over the international break, it will be a little bit longer yet.”
The injury has become a stain on the record of Baleba, who has now already missed more games in a United shirt through injury than he did throughout his three years on the south coast.
Following the international break—taking place between Monday 9 November and Tuesday 17 November—United will find themselves in one of the most physically demanding periods, with trips to Liverpool and Sporting Club de Portugal, before hosting Brentford across a seven-day period.
The United head coach will need his 70 million star summer signing to be ready for this hard run of fixtures, with United still languishing in 17th in both the Premier League and Champions League tables.
Despite departing the pitch while United were 2-0 down against Roma, his first 45-minute partnership had been an encouraging watch for the Old Trafford faithful, who had yet to see the pair start together since his move in the summer.
If there is one good piece of news to come from the injury update, it is that full-back Patrick Dorgu is "slowly getting back" after missing seven successive games through injury, with Carrick unsure whether he will be available for the Aston Villa fixture at the weekend.
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