Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Oli Gent

Why Benjamin Sesko is not playing for Manchester United in Wrexham pre-season friendly today

Benjamin Sesko will not feature for Manchester United as they open their new season against Wrexham today.

The Red Devils take on the Championship side in Helsinki, Finland in a highly-anticipated pre-season friendly this afternoon.

FOLLOW MAN UTD VS WREXHAM LIVE!

It will be the first match that they play under Michael Carrick as their full-time manager, with the former midfielder taking the reins on a permanent basis after impressing in his second caretaker spell.

He took over from Ruben Amorim after the Portuguese’s sacking in January, and he led United to a first Champions League finish since 2023.

Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Sunday May 3, 2026. (PA)
Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Sunday May 3, 2026. (PA)

Since then, he has been backed in the transfer market, with the likes of Andrey Santos, Karl Darlow and Youri Tielemans arriving to strengthen the club’s depth and bolster their engine room ranks.

Darlow and Tielemans, like Sesko, have also not travelled to Scandinavia, with Darlow undergoing a minor operation on an undisclosed injury, while Tielemans has been afforded extra time off after returning from the World Cup with Belgium, who reached the quarter-finals.

Sesko, meanwhile, did not play at this summer’s tournament with Slovenia, who didn’t qualify, but he misses this match through another fitness concern.

The striker missed the last three games of last season with a shin problem that flared up against Liverpool in early May, and he will play not part this afternoon as a result.

United insist that both he and Darlow will be fully fit for the start of the new campaign, as Carrick looks to build on a third-place finish while juggling Champions League football.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.