Baleba plays first minutes in United shirt as injury return edges closer ahead of Tottenham

Carlos Baleba made his first appearance in a Manchester United shirt on Friday, playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne at Carrington that United reportedly won 2-1. The Cameroon international had been absent since joining from Brighton in the summer after sustaining an ankle injury before completing the permanent transfer.

Baleba was named in United’s matchday squad for the 1-1 draw with Fulham before the international break but was left as an unused substitute by manager Michael Carrick. Friday’s outing against Lausanne — a sister club of United’s — represented a significant step in his recovery, having been working through a tailored training programme in recent weeks.

The midfielder was not the only senior player involved. Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha also featured, alongside a number of younger players including Carrick’s son Jacey, Amir Ibragimov, Yuel Helafu, Victor Musa, Diego Leon, and Enzo Kana-Biyik. The match also gave United a close look at highly-rated prospect Sekou Kone, currently on loan at Lausanne, while the Swiss side fielded former United defender Tyler Fredricson.

United return to Premier League action on 10 October when they host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, and Carrick faces a number of fitness concerns heading into the fixture. Bruno Fernandes had caused an injury scare last week but returned to Portugal’s starting line-up against Denmark in the Nations League on Thursday.

Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo both withdrew from the England squad before the international break began, as did Benjamin Sesko for Slovenia and Karl Darlow for Wales. Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui also picked up knocks while on international duty with Denmark and Morocco respectively, and United are expected to assess both players in the coming days.