Manchester United will have to wait to unveil their £70 million midfield investment.
Michael Carrick confirmed that Carlos Baleba, signed from Brighton to add fresh power and personality to United’s engine room, is likely to be sidelined for around three weeks with an ankle problem picked up before his move.
“He’s got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks,” Carrick said, underlining that the club knew about the problem before sealing the deal. “It’s no major issue but it’ll be great to have him back when we can.”
For supporters eager to see the 22-year-old Cameroon international in red, that means patience. Baleba will miss Sunday’s Premier League home game against promoted Ipswich and is expected to sit out the fixtures that follow.
Big fee, brief delay
Baleba arrives into a reshaped midfield department. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans came through the door earlier in the summer, and United’s hierarchy see the former Brighton man as a different kind of piece in that puzzle.
Director of football Jason Wilcox has already labelled him “an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further”, a statement of both belief and expectation after such a sizeable outlay.
Baleba’s ankle issue had already kept him out of Brighton’s Conference League games and their Premier League opener. Carrick’s suggested timeline now points towards a potentially intriguing first appearance: a Carabao Cup tie at Old Trafford against his former club, before a league trip to Fulham on September 20, United’s last outing before they host Tottenham after the international break on October 10.
The stage is set. The curtain just has to stay down a little longer.
Managing the injury list
Carrick is juggling more than one fitness concern. Asked whether Baleba and Amad Diallo might return before the upcoming three-week international break, he refused to circle dates on the calendar.
“It’s obviously new, the break to deal with, but we’ll wait and see,” he said. “We’re hopeful but I don’t want to put any deadlines on it just yet.
“Amad won’t be involved this week. He’ll be out for a little bit longer. Mase (Mason Mount) is back around the group, which was great. Trained this week, so that’s a big positive for us.”
So while Baleba and Amad wait, Mount edges back into contention, offering at least one timely boost as United try to shake off a grim opening to their league campaign.
Response required
Last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at play-off winners Hull was as poor a start as United could have imagined. The performance forced Carrick into early calls: Marcus Rashford, given extra rest after the World Cup, came on at half-time alongside Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo in an attempt to jolt the team into life.
The changes couldn’t rescue the result, but they underlined one thing: competition for places will be fierce once everyone is fit.
“We’ve got a squad to choose from. We’ve got a good squad and we could pick a variety kind of combinations within the team,” Carrick said. “We’ll pick a team for the weekend but, yeah, certainly the boys are massively in contention.”
That is where Baleba comes in. Carrick’s excitement about the midfielder’s profile was clear.
“We’re delighted to have Carlos. I think huge potential, massive potential. I think he’s a really exciting signing for us.
“I think the quality that he has, the attributes that he has that offsets a little bit of the balance of the group that we’ve got. Different strengths, different combinations.
“So, for us to have that, absolutely delighted to have him. I think there’s so much more to come from him as well, which with the player that he already is with that little bit more to come is exciting for us.”
United, bruised from Hull and under pressure to respond against Ipswich, must find answers without their new £70m midfielder. If they stumble again, the anticipation around Baleba’s eventual debut will only grow louder.
When he finally steps out at Old Trafford, the margin for patience may be far smaller than the club originally planned.
