Manchester United Blocks Benjamin Sesko from Slovenia Duty Due to Shin Injury
Benjamin Sesko’s stop-start Manchester United career has hit another bump, and this one is causing tension far beyond Old Trafford.
United have refused to release the 23-year-old striker for Slovenia’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures, with the club citing an ongoing shin injury that has dogged him since the back end of last season.
Club over country
Sesko missed the closing stages of the previous campaign with pain in his shin and then sat out United’s entire pre-season. He only resurfaced competitively as a substitute in the opening Premier League game against Hull City.
He has two goals in six appearances for United this season, numbers that hint at promise but not yet at dominance. His last outing came in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, where he laboured through a difficult performance. He then disappeared from the squad entirely for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Fulham.
Despite that, Slovenia had called him up for a demanding Nations League schedule: back-to-back games against Scotland, plus meetings with North Macedonia and Switzerland. Those plans have now been ripped up.
United have blocked Sesko from travelling and from having the injury assessed in Slovenia, a stance that has not gone unnoticed in his homeland. His repeated absences from national duty since joining the club have already strained relations between player, country and employer, and this latest withdrawal will only deepen the frustration.
United draw a hard line
The club moved to clarify their position with an official statement.
“Manchester United can confirm that Benjamin Sesko has withdrawn from the Slovenia squad ahead of the upcoming three-week international break,” it read.
“The striker had been called up by head coach Bostjan Cesar for two games against Scotland, plus meetings with North Macedonia and Switzerland, but he will now no longer join the squad.
“Sesko last appeared in our Carabao Cup tie with Brighton & Hove Albion, but was absent from the matchday squad for our most recent encounter with Fulham. Benjamin will undergo tests this week before defining his individual recovery plan.”
The message is clear: United want full control over his rehabilitation. No risks, no divided medical opinions, no travel.
Head coach Michael Carrick echoed that caution when pressed on Sesko’s status after the Fulham match.
“We’re not sure with Ben yet. He felt a bit of pain after the game, we’re assessing him,” Carrick told reporters. “At the moment, he definitely wasn’t ready for today, so I haven’t really got any more news to give you at this point. We’ll have to see what that brings.”
A career still waiting to ignite
Sesko arrived from RB Leipzig last summer as a long-term project with serious upside. The raw tools are obvious: height, mobility, a clean striker of the ball. His numbers, though, tell the story of a player still searching for rhythm.
Since joining United, he has scored 14 goals and provided one assist in 38 appearances across all competitions. In the Premier League, it’s 12 goals and one assist in 34 games. Respectable returns, but not yet the breakout many at the club had hoped to see.
Consistency has been the missing ingredient. Spells of sharp finishing have been interrupted by lean patches, and now by this recurring shin problem. Every time he looks ready to build momentum, something stalls the climb.
United remain hopeful that Sesko will be fit to face Tottenham Hotspur on October 10. That date is already circled at Carrington. For the club, it represents a potential turning point in their season and in Sesko’s role within it. For Slovenia, it will be another reminder that their leading forward’s future is increasingly being shaped in Manchester, not Ljubljana.
The question now is simple: when Sesko’s shin finally settles, will he return as the striker United thought they were signing – or as a talent permanently stuck in stop-start mode?
