Manchester United’s £70m signing Carlos Baleba will wait for his Old Trafford bow after picking up an ankle problem that could keep him out for as long as three weeks.
Michael Carrick said the Cameroon midfielder might not appear until October. Baleba arrived from Brighton to add bite to midfield after the club also brought in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.
Speaking before Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Ipswich, Carrick told reporters the issue was already known. He put it at a couple of weeks, maybe three, and said it was not a major worry, only that they would be glad to have him back when they could.
The setback lands as United look to answer a 2-0 opening-day loss at newly promoted Hull City. Carrick still sounded sure Baleba would count once he is fit, calling him a player of huge potential and an exciting addition whose strengths and attributes give the group a different balance and different combinations.
That extra physical, mobile option is part of how United hope to push on from last season, when Carrick took the side to third as interim boss before the job was made permanent.
He also said Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez could start after sitting out the Hull defeat on the bench, while Amad Diallo remains out injured.
