Michael Carrick issues Carlos Baleba injury update as wait goes on for £70million star to make his Man Utd debut

CARLOS BALEBA is set to make his Manchester United debut after the international break. Baleba, who has been sidelined since sustaining an ankle injury in a friendly for Brighton on July 18, began outdoor training this week. Baleba at Carrington on Monday Credit: Getty Baleba has not trained with his new team-mates yet Credit: Getty The £70million summer signing has not had a single team training session with his team-mates, which all but rules him out of this week’s games against his former club and at Fulham. United head coach Michael Carrick said in late August that Baleba would be available in “a couple or three weeks” but the club are preparing for him to be ready for the visit of Tottenham on October 10. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! When asked if Baleba will be available after the three-week international break, Carrick replied: “Yeah, he definitely will be. “He’ll be back in and around the group at some point over the next week or so, so that means after internationals he should be in good shape. “Carlos came being injured and then he’s desperate to get out there and be part of the group and training fully with the boys. “I’ve said before, obviously, he’s a quality player, that’s why we bought him. And he balances off the dynamics of the midfield particularly well.” There is no timeframe on the returns of Amad, who sustained an injury on the eve of the season opener against Hull City, or Matthijs de Ligt, sidelined since November 30 with a back problem. Luke Shaw could be available for the League Cup third round tie against Brighton, having missed last week’s games against Sabah and Manchester City. If Shaw is not risked, Carrick expects him to be back at Craven Cottage on Sunday. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Shaw’s substitution with United 2-1 up at Everton and absence against City were costly, with his full back replacements Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu culpable for the decisive goals United conceded. Carrick billed Dorgu as “like a new signing” after he missed three months last term with a hamstring injury, but the Denmark international did not convince at left back last week. “Pat played fantastically well the other night and I thought he did a lot of good things [against City], to be honest,” Carrick added. “That’s why we’ve got the squad, to fill in different things. Injuries aren’t ideal, but we’ve got to deal with them.” United have won two trophies in nine years and went out of both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle last season. Carrick played in two League Cup final triumphs with United under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2010 and Jose Mourinho in 2017. “For me, trophies are the beauty and the feeling of winning,” Carrick said. “It’s what we’re in football for, what we’re in sport for, and certainly what I’m at this club for is to try and win. “It’s not straightforward and you decide you want to win and you go and win. But it’s important. Carrick hoists the League Cup in 2017 Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd “And I think trophies and achieving things and giving supporters that feeling of the emotion of that is important, definitely.” Carrick also backed the United players to respond positively to the derby defeat. The Pro Ref organisation admitted a “judgement of error” for Erling Haaland’s controversial winner but Carrick was widely criticised for his game management after Phil Foden’s 23rd-minute red card. On the three occasions United have lost under Carrick, they have won their following fixture. “We’ve got to move on,” Carrick stressed. “We’ve still got to look at it for ourselves, and we’ve got to win games. We’ve won a lot of games, and we need to continue to do that. “I understand it’s a new season, it’s a fresh season, and the points tally right now is not what we want it to be. I’m not hiding from that. “But it’s more of winning games, getting that feeling, getting the habit. It’s easier said than done, of course it is, but we’re capable of it. “The players have got an edge. I think they’ve shown that to me since I’ve been here. We’ve had setbacks, and they’ve bounced back particularly well and had some really good performances and good results. “So they’ve got an edge. It does give you something when something like that happens [against City] to use moving forward.” Comment now