Carrick confirms eight absentees as Man Utd travel to face Como with Rashford and Martinez both out

Michael Carrick has confirmed that six Manchester United players are unavailable for Wednesday’s Champions League fixture against Como in Italy, with Lisandro Martinez, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw and Ayden Heaven all absent from the club’s final training session at Carrington.

The United manager was already without Patrick Dorgu, Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte through long-term injuries, while Leny Yoro serves a suspension after his red card against Atlético Madrid in the previous Champions League outing. Carrick described the situation as a “mixed bag”, suggesting Martinez is the most likely of the new absentees to return for Sunday’s Premier League match against Bournemouth.

“Licha is not too bad but he’s not with us. We’ll have to see if he’s ready for the weekend,” Carrick told reporters. On Mainoo, he added: “We’re looking at another 10 days or so. Luke a little bit longer than that.” He confirmed that Heaven is ill, while Rashford “is still feeling a hip issue we’re trying to overcome.”

Carrick was pressed on whether he regrets United’s decision not to sign a left-back in the summer transfer window, given Shaw’s recurring injury problems. “When we’ve got injuries at different stages we can always look at what could have been done, what could have been improved,” he said. “We had to make decisions in the summer and we did what we could do and made the best of it. There’s been injuries — Pat as well getting injured — it tends to happen at times where it hits you in the same place.”

On Sesko’s recovery timeline, Carrick offered cautious optimism: “We’re hoping soon that we have a clear picture. Hopefully by the end of the week we will have something clearer. There has been some work going on.”

Amid the injury concerns, United have been boosted by the return of Matthijs de Ligt, who missed almost a full year with a serious back problem. “It’s great to have him back — he’s had such a long journey of 11 months or so out,” Carrick said. “He’s been patient, worked hard. Delighted to have him back. He’s fit, he’s ready.”