Carlos Baleba will be out for "a number of weeks" and will not return straight after the international break, Michael Carrick has confirmed — but Patrick Dorgu could make the Manchester United squad against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Cameroon midfielder was forced off just after half-time in Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League comeback win over Roma, clutching his hamstring after a driving run into the penalty area. It was his first start alongside Kobbie Mainoo, and the fear at the time — covered in our report on Baleba's hamstring injury against Roma — was that the lay-off would be measured in weeks rather than days. Carrick's Friday press conference has now confirmed exactly that.
"Carlos, we don't know exactly, but it'll be a number of weeks," Carrick told reporters, in quotes reported by Sports Mole. "It's definitely not this week, and it won't be anytime over the international break. It'll be a little bit longer than that."
Which games Baleba is set to miss
Sunday's visit of Aston Villa is only the start of it. Reports in The Sun say Baleba is set to miss United's remaining fixtures this month, and the trip to Liverpool on 22 November and the Champions League meeting with Sporting are also expected to come too soon, with late November the earliest realistic target for a return.
That is a heavy blow in a specific area of the pitch. Baleba was signed to give United power and ball-carrying in midfield, and his Roma display before the injury showed why. Youri Tielemans, who replaced him against Roma and impressed from the bench, is now in line for a run of starts he will have to make count.
Dorgu edging back — slowly
The better news came at left-back. Dorgu returned to training at the start of the week after the hamstring injury he suffered on Denmark duty during the last international break, and although he was not involved against Roma, he has a chance of making the squad on Sunday.
"Patrick has done a little bit of training this week — very, very small," Carrick said. "He's had a good period of time now with a couple of hamstrings that we need to manage and be patient with over the next few weeks as well. But he's slowly getting back with us, so we'll have to see whether he can be involved at the weekend or not."
Dorgu has not played for United since the clash with Fulham on 20 September, and has made just five appearances this season. Even a place on the bench would be a step forward for a player whose season has never got going.
So what: a thin squad meets a defining week
Baleba and Dorgu are not United's only problems. Manuel Ugarte, Benjamin Sesko, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford are again set to miss out through injury, while Lisandro Martinez is suspended — this for a side sitting 17th in the Premier League with seven points from nine matches.
Carrick was keen to stop Tuesday's famous comeback win from becoming its own excuse. "It was a fantastic night as a one-off night," he said. "Nothing has been achieved yet, and it's one moment we need to use to move forward." Villa at home is precisely the kind of game that decides whether Roma was a turning point or a false dawn, and United will have to win it with a patched-up midfield.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Baleba's injury is the Roma hangover nobody at Old Trafford wanted. One step forward in Europe, one key midfielder back in the treatment room — and with Liverpool and Sporting waiting after the break, Carrick's squad depth will be tested exactly where it is thinnest. Tielemans now has the stage; whether he takes it will shape United's November.
How big a miss will Baleba be? Let us know in the comments.
