Baleba out for weeks as Dorgu and Rashford race to be fit for United's clash with Villa

Manchester United head into Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Aston Villa at Old Trafford carrying a significant injury list, with midfielder Carlos Baleba confirmed out for several weeks and doubts hanging over Patrick Dorgu and Marcus Rashford.

Baleba sustained a hamstring problem during United’s 3-2 Champions League comeback win over Roma on Tuesday. Head coach Michael Carrick confirmed on Friday that the midfielder will miss not only the Villa match but also the entire international break. “Carlos, we don’t know [when he will be back], but it will be a number of weeks,” Carrick said. “It’s definitely not this week, and it won’t be any time over the international break. It’ll be a little bit longer than that.”

Dorgu, who missed the Roma game with a thigh injury, returned to light training during the week ahead of schedule. Carrick was cautious about the winger’s availability, however, noting the need to manage a player who has dealt with multiple hamstring issues. “He’s had a good period of time now with a couple of hamstrings that we need to manage,” Carrick said. “He’s slowly getting back with us, so we’ll have to see whether he can be involved at the weekend or not.”

Rashford is being assessed on a daily basis for a hip problem, with no fresh update emerging from Friday’s press conference. The forward’s earliest realistic return is pencilled in for the November 22 fixture against Liverpool. Left-back Luke Shaw is also unavailable this weekend, with Carrick confirming earlier in the week that Shaw would not feature, making the Liverpool game his likely comeback target as well.

StrikerBenjamin Sesko adds to the headache up front. Carrick revealed last week that the forward faces a longer spell on the sidelines after a shin injury required a period of monitoring before a treatment plan could be confirmed. No firm return date has been given.

Defender Lisandro Martinez is also absent, though through suspension rather than injury.

United sit 17th in the Premier League having won just one league game this season, making Sunday’s home fixture against Aston Villa a critical test for Carrick as he looks to secure his position during the upcoming international break.