Sesko, De Ligt and Ugarte all sidelined as United name squad for Wrexham pre-season opener

Manchester United will be without Benjamin Sesko, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte when they face Wrexham in their pre-season opener in Finland on Saturday, with the trio among several absentees from Michael Carrick’s 25-man travelling squad.

Sesko is continuing his recovery from a shin injury sustained towards the end of last season and remains on an individual programme. De Ligt has been sidelined since November with a back problem that required surgery and ruled him out of the World Cup with the Netherlands. Ugarte faces the longest road back after suffering a knee ligament injury while representing Uruguay at the World Cup; the club has confirmed he has undergone successful surgery and will begin his rehabilitation under the supervision of United’s medical and performance staff.

New signing Karl Darlow is also absent, with United confirming the goalkeeper is in the final stages of recovering from a minor procedure carried out at the end of last season.

Youri Tielemans, who missed Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final defeat against Spain with a hamstring injury, has been given additional time off following the tournament and is not part of the squad. The injury is reported to be minor and he is expected to be fit for the start of the new season.

Several other key players are missing for different reasons. Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez are still in the United States with England and Argentina respectively, with England facing France in the third-place play-off on Saturday before Argentina meet Spain in the final the following day.

On a more positive note, new signing Andrey Santos has been included in the squad and could make his first appearance for the club against Wrexham. United’s preparations for the 2026/27 Premier League and Champions League campaign are now properly underway.