Rashford and Mainoo could return as Dorgu and Sesko face weeks out for Man United against Spurs

Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo are in contention to feature for Manchester United against Tottenham on Saturday 10 October, having returned to training after withdrawing from international duty, but Michael Carrick remains without several key players through injury.

Rashford picked up a knock in United’s defeat to Fulham before the break and was ruled out of England’s squad, yet has since trained alongside Mainoo, who missed international duty with an unspecified issue. Carrick confirmed both players, along with winger Amad, had done “a little bit of training” this week, leaving their availability for the Spurs fixture uncertain but possible.

The more serious concerns centre on Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Sesko. Dorgu lasted just 30 minutes in Denmark’s clash with Wales before withdrawing from the squad with a thigh problem. Carrick was blunt about the timeline: “Patrick came off and looks like he’ll be out for probably a number of weeks,” with a return pencilled in for late November or early December. Sesko, meanwhile, missed the Carabao Cup tie against Brighton and pulled out of the Slovenia squad with a shin injury, and Carrick confirmed he “won’t be ready” for the Tottenham game, with a return expected in late October or early November.

Defender Matthijs de Ligt continues his recovery from a long-term back problem. Carrick was cautious about committing to a date, saying he did not want to “put too much of a timeframe on it” given the nature of the injury, with November the broad target.

Amad has yet to make a Premier League appearance this season after suffering a knock before the opening-day win over Hull City, but is also edging closer to fitness.

The injury news arrives at a difficult moment for United, who have collected just five points from their opening five Premier League games and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup last month. Carrick’s side face a congested fixture schedule throughout October, making further setbacks particularly costly.