Six players ruled out as injury crisis deepens for Carrick's Man Utd before Atletico clash

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick faces a mounting injury crisis ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid, with six players unavailable for the crucial European fixture.

Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are the most notable absentees after both picked up problems during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Shaw was substituted in the sixth minute of second-half added time, while Mainoo completed the match but did not train on Monday morning. Carrick confirmed their absence at his pre-match press conference in Madrid: “They’ve not travelled, they both picked up issues in the game on Saturday, and we were working through that, to see what that looks like. At the moment, they are not ready for the game tomorrow.”

Benjamin Sesko, Noussair Mazraoui, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte complete the list of unavailable players. Mazraoui and Dorgu were both injured while on international duty — with Morocco and Denmark respectively — and Carrick had already flagged their absences before the Spurs match. “Patrick came off, and it looks like he will be out for a number of weeks,” the United head coach said of Dorgu, adding that Mazraoui “took a knock” and “isn’t quite right.”

Sesko is dealing with a shin injury, with Carrick noting it is in a similar area to a previous problem but not identical. “He recovered really well from the initial one, but sometimes things get thrown up and the body does certain things,” Carrick said. “We’ve got to react to that and try to get him back as quickly as we can.” Ugarte, meanwhile, continues his rehabilitation from knee surgery at Carrington and did not travel with the squad.

On a more positive note, Amad returned from injury against Tottenham, Matthijs de Ligt has made the trip to Spain, and goalkeeper Tom Heaton is back in training. Academy defender Dan Armer has also travelled with the senior group.

Despite the lengthy absentee list, Carrick pushed back on suggestions that his squad is stretched thin. “We’re not light on numbers, no. Of course, we’ve got a couple of issues with some players missing out, but we’re definitely not light on numbers,” he said.

The fixture comes at a difficult moment for United, who have made a mediocre start to the season. Dominic Solanke’s stoppage-time header earned Tottenham a point on Sunday after the Red Devils again failed to convert a numerical advantage into a victory — a recurring theme that has increased scrutiny on Carrick’s management. Atletico Madrid, by contrast, appear to have a clean bill of health heading into the tie.