Carrick confirms De Ligt out as 13 players face Hull City fitness doubts on Premier League opening day

Manchester United begin their 2026/27 Premier League campaign at Hull City on Saturday with a significant injury cloud hanging over both sides, as manager Michael Carrick confirmed that as many as 13 players across the two squads could miss the lunchtime kick-off.

Carrick delivered a mixed injury update on three key players ahead of the trip to the MKM Stadium. Matthijs de Ligt, who has been out for an extended period, has returned to training at Carrington but will not feature. “He won’t be involved, but he’s in good shape and moving in a good direction,” Carrick said. “So that’s really a good bonus for us at this stage.”

Mason Mount is also a doubt after United have been managing a minor issue that emerged during pre-season. “He’s very close, so it’s touch-and-go for the weekend really, if not going into next week,” Carrick said. “There’s no drama. It’s maybe been a week or so, 10 days or whatever it’s been. So it’s nothing major.” Despite the optimistic framing, Mount’s absence from training earlier this week suggests he is likely to miss out.

Benjamin Sesko, who picked up his injury last season, has also returned to the training pitch. Carrick confirmed the Slovenian striker is back around the group and that the club are looking to get him minutes, though it remains unclear whether he will be risked from the start.

Summer signing Karl Darlow has recovered from a knock and could feature on the bench, but midfielder Manuel Ugarte and goalkeeper Tom Heaton are set to miss the game entirely.

Hull City face their own selection headaches heading into the new season, with eight players unavailable to head coach Sergej Jakirovic. Four of those are new signings: goalkeeper Jack Butland, Oscar Zambrano, Joe Gelhardt, and Hidemasa Morita are all carrying problems. Morita has returned to training and could potentially make his debut, though he is considered more likely to get his first minutes in the Carabao Cup the following week. Charlie Hughes, Elliot Matazo, Darko Gyabi, and Matty Jacob round out Hull’s injury list.