Man Utd: Carrick rules FIVE stars out of Como trip as left-back signing blunder addressed

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick is feeling the heat at Old Trafford

Michael Carrick has provided an update on five Manchester United players who will all miss Wednesday night’s Champions League trip to Serie A side Como, while also addressing the club’s failure to sign another left-back over the summer.

The Red Devils are currently reeling after Sunday’s draw at Leeds United made it six games without a win in all competitions, with three defeats in that time.

That poor run has led to major scrutiny over Carrick‘s future at Old Trafford, with the likes of Fabian Hurzeler, Antonio Conte, Eddie Howe and current Como boss Cesc Fabregas all being tipped to replace the former Man Utd midfielder in the hotseat.

Carrick, however, is purely focusing on the games that are currently coming thick and fast for United, with Como up next in northern Italy.

It’s not good news on the injury front, though, with the Red Devils boss revealing that Lisandro Martinez, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven and Marcus Rashford all missed the final training session at Carrington before flying out to Italy and will be absent.

Carrick was already without Patrick Dorgu, Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte due to long-term injuries, while Leny Yoro is suspended following his red card against Atletico Madrid last time out.

The Old Trafford chief was asked for an update on his new absentees and admitted that it was a ‘mixed bag’, with Martinez the most likely to be available to face Bournemouth on Sunday.

“Licha is not too bad but he’s not with us. We’ll have to see if he’s ready for the weekend,” Carrick told reporters.

“Kobbie were looking at another 10 days or so. Luke a little bit longer than that.

“A little bit of injury and illness in the camp. Ayden is ill and Marcus is still feeling a hip issue we’re trying to overcome.”

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Carrick, meanwhile, was also pressed on whether he regrets United’s decision not to sign another left-back to compete with Luke Shaw over the summer.

Indeed, Shaw’s recent absence has forced Carrick to reshuffle his defence as a result.

He added: “Listen, when we’ve got injuries at different stages we can always look at what could have been done, what we could have been improved.

“I spoke to you about making the best of the transfer window in the situation we had, and this man next to me (Andrey Santos) was a big part of that. Delighted to have him.

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“We had to make decisions in the summer and we did what we could do and made the best of it.

“There’s been injuries, Pat as well getting injured, it tends to happen at times where it hits you in the same place.”

Como and United are 12th and 13th respectively in the expanded Champions League table ahead of Wednesday night’s clash, with Fabregas asked if he could take over from Carrick at Old Trafford

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