Scholes and Butt mock Sesko shin injury and accuse Carrick of 'killing' Cunha at Man Utd

Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have publicly questioned Benjamin Sesko’s ongoing shin injury and taken aim at Michael Carrick’s use of Matheus Cunha, after Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham in the Premier League.

Sesko, 23, missed the Fulham fixture after feeling pain in his shin during the Carabao Cup third-round defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford. The Slovenia international had also missed all of pre-season with the same problem, and the injury cut short his debut campaign three matches early.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Butt was blunt about his scepticism. “The biggest problem is the number nine. How can Man United have one centre forward? Who is injured, with what, a shin injury?” Scholes added: “How do you injure your shin? Ain’t that a broken leg? Can’t you just put your shin pads on?” Butt concluded: “You either break your shin, or you play. Put your shin pads on or your padding on, I don’t quite get it.”

With Sesko absent, Cunha started as the central striker and scored a late equaliser to salvage a point for United. But Butt argued the role fundamentally undermines the Brazilian. “Playing Cunha as a nine kills him. He’s nowhere near the player he is off the side,” he said, directing the criticism at former United midfielder Carrick, who has been working with the club’s coaching setup.

The only time Cunha and Sesko have started together this season was in the Champions League match against Sabah, where Cunha played on the left wing and scored his first goal of the campaign. Butt also raised concerns about Joshua Zirkzee as an alternative option, saying: “He’s been going, staying, going, staying. And when he does come on, he doesn’t look anywhere near a Manchester United number nine.”

Butt extended his critique to the wider squad. “Midfield, we have good footballers, but can’t dominate a game. The back four look an average back four,” he said, questioning whether the right-back position was of sufficient quality to push United into the top two or three. He also suggested Harry Maguire is “past his best” and that Lisandro Martinez, while technically gifted, lacks the dominance required at the highest level. Luke Shaw, he noted, has a recurring pattern of playing three or four games before picking up an injury — though Shaw was one of only five outfield players in the club’s history to start every Premier League match in a single season, alongside Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister, Maguire, and Steve Bruce.