Carrick confirms £70m signing Baleba faces three-week absence after ankle injury

Carlos Baleba will be sidelined for approximately three weeks after completing his £70 million move from Brighton to Manchester United, manager Michael Carrick confirmed, with the Cameroon international arriving at Old Trafford with an existing ankle injury.

The 22-year-old midfielder finalised his transfer on Tuesday, becoming United’s third summer midfield addition following the arrivals of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans. United director of football Jason Wilcox described Baleba as “an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further”, but supporters will have to wait before seeing him in action.

“He’s got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks,” Carrick said. “We’ll see, but we knew that before, so it’s no major issue but it’ll be great to have him back when we can.”

The injury rules Baleba out of Sunday’s Premier League home fixture against promoted Ipswich and potentially several matches beyond it. Carrick was cautious when asked whether Baleba and Amad Diallo could return before the three-week international break. “We’re hopeful but I don’t want to put any deadlines on it just yet,” he said.

Carrick’s timeline suggests Baleba could be available for United’s Carabao Cup tie against Brighton — a potentially fitting debut against his former club — before the trip to Fulham on September 20. The international break then follows, with United hosting Tottenham on October 10.

Amad Diallo was also ruled out of this weekend’s fixture, though Carrick offered a more encouraging update on Mason Mount. “Mase is back around the group, which was great. Trained this week, so that’s a big positive for us,” he said.

Despite the setback, Carrick was effusive about what Baleba can bring to Old Trafford once fit. “We’re delighted to have Carlos. Huge potential, massive potential. I think he’s a really exciting signing for us,” the United manager said. “The quality that he has, the attributes that he has, offsets a little bit of the balance of the group that we’ve got. There’s so much more to come from him as well, which with the player that he already is, is exciting for us.”

United head into Sunday’s home game seeking a response after a 2-0 defeat at Hull on the opening weekend. Marcus Rashford, Lisandro Martinez, and Kobbie Mainoo were all introduced from the bench in that game after being granted additional rest following the World Cup, and Carrick indicated all three are firmly in contention this weekend.