Manchester United Blocks Benjamin Sesko from Slovenia Duty
Benjamin Sesko’s stop-start Manchester United career has hit another snag – and this time it is dragging his national team into the storm.
United have refused to release the 23-year-old for Slovenia’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures, with the club insisting his lingering shin problem needs to be managed in Manchester rather than tested on international duty.
Club over country
Sesko ended last season in pain, his shin troubling him badly enough to rule him out of the run-in. The issue did not clear over the summer. He missed the entire pre-season schedule, only re-emerging from the bench in the opening Premier League game of the 2026-27 campaign against Hull City.
Since then, his season has never quite found rhythm. Two goals in six appearances hint at productivity, but the details tell a different story. He laboured through the EFL Cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion last week, then vanished from the squad entirely for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Fulham.
Yet he was still on Slovenia’s list.
Head coach Bostjan Cesar had named Sesko for a demanding Nations League block: two meetings with Scotland, plus games against North Macedonia and Switzerland. For a country of Slovenia’s size, their leading centre-forward is non-negotiable. Or so they thought.
United have stepped in. The club will not allow Sesko to travel, not even to have the injury assessed by Slovenia’s medical staff. The stance has not gone unnoticed. His repeated absences from national camps since joining United have already strained relations; this latest decision will only tighten the tension.
United draw a line
The club set out their position in a firm statement.
“Manchester United can confirm that Benjamin Sesko has withdrawn from the Slovenia squad ahead of the upcoming three-week international break,” it read.
“The striker had been called up by head coach Bostjan Cesar for two games against Scotland, plus meetings with North Macedonia and Switzerland, but he will now no longer join the squad.
“Sesko last appeared in our Carabao Cup tie with Brighton & Hove Albion, but was absent from the matchday squad for our most recent encounter with Fulham. Benjamin will undergo tests this week before defining his individual recovery plan.”
So the message is clear: the next steps will be decided in Manchester, on United’s terms.
Carrick cautious, clock ticking
Michael Carrick cut a careful figure when pressed on Sesko’s status after the Fulham game. The United head coach admitted the club simply do not know yet when the forward will be ready.
“We’re not sure with Ben yet. He felt a bit of pain after the game, we’re assessing him,” Carrick told reporters.
“At the moment, he definitely wasn’t ready for today, so I haven’t really got any more news to give you at this point. We’ll have to see what that brings.”
Inside the club, there is hope rather than certainty. United are aiming to have Sesko fit for the Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on October 10, a fixture that already feels like a marker for both player and team. Whether his shin allows that remains an open question.
Promise on pause
Sesko arrived from RB Leipzig last summer with the usual Old Trafford fanfare: a tall, mobile, modern No. 9 expected to grow into the role and lead the line for years. The numbers so far are respectable, if not explosive.
Fourteen goals and one assist in 38 appearances for United. Twelve of those goals have come in 34 Premier League matches. Enough to show there is something there. Not enough to silence doubts about consistency.
That is the story of his time at Old Trafford to date. Flashes of a future star, streaks of sharp finishing and clever movement, then long stretches where form, fitness or both desert him. The talent is obvious. The continuity is not.
Now the shin injury threatens to drag that pattern into another season. United want control, Slovenia want their striker, and Sesko is stuck in the middle, watching a crucial phase of his development from the treatment room.
The next time he pulls on a shirt – red or green – will say plenty about how this delicate club-versus-country battle is really being won.
