Manchester United's Carlos Baleba Faces Delay After Injury Setback
Manchester United will have to wait to unleash their £70 million midfield investment.
Michael Carrick confirmed that Carlos Baleba, signed from Brighton on Tuesday, is set to miss around three weeks with an ankle injury, delaying one of the most eagerly anticipated Old Trafford debuts of the summer.
Big-money signing, frustrating delay
United moved decisively for the 22-year-old after bringing in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, seeing Baleba as another key piece in a rebuilt midfield. Inside the club, the language around him has been bold. Director of football Jason Wilcox has already labelled the Cameroon international “an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further”.
Supporters will have to be patient.
Baleba arrived with an existing ankle problem, ruling him out of Sunday’s Premier League opener at home to promoted Ipswich and sidelining him beyond that as well.
“He's got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks,” Carrick said. “We’ll see but we knew that before, so it's no major issue but it'll be great to have him back when we can.”
The injury had already cost Baleba Brighton’s Conference League games and their first Premier League fixture. Now, Carrick’s timeline points towards a debut that could hardly be scripted better: potentially against his former club.
United host Albion in the Carabao Cup before travelling to Fulham on September 20, their final outing before Tottenham visit Old Trafford after the international break on October 10. Somewhere in that run, if the ankle heals as expected, Baleba’s first steps in a United shirt should arrive.
Managing the injury list
Carrick is juggling more than one rehabilitation. Asked whether Baleba and Amad Diallo might return before the upcoming three-week international break, he kept his options open.
“It's obviously new, the break to deal with, but we'll wait and see,” he said. “We're hopeful but I don't want to put any deadlines on it just yet.
“Amad won't be involved this week. He'll be out for a little bit longer. Mase (Mason Mount) is back around the group, which was great. Trained this week, so that's a big positive for us.”
Mount’s return offers a timely lift. The mood needed one.
United’s season began with a jolt: a 2-0 defeat away to play-off winners Hull, a performance that raised familiar questions and left Carrick demanding a reaction.
Marcus Rashford, given an extended rest after the World Cup, came on at half-time at Hull, alongside Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo. All three will be central to any revival, and Carrick knows he has choices to make.
“We've got a squad to choose from. We've got a good squad and we could pick a variety kind of combinations within the team,” he said. “We'll pick a team for the weekend but, yeah, certainly the boys are massively in contention.”
A different kind of midfielder
Behind the scenes, the anticipation around Baleba has not dimmed despite the setback. If anything, the wait has sharpened the sense of what he might bring.
“We're delighted to have Carlos,” Carrick said. “I think huge potential, massive potential. I think he's a really exciting signing for us.
“I think the quality that he has, the attributes that he has that offsets a little bit of the balance of the group that we've got. Different strengths, different combinations.
“So, for us to have that, absolutely delighted to have him. I think there's so much more to come from him as well, which with the player that he already is with that little bit more to come is exciting for us.”
That line tells the story. United see Baleba not just as another body in midfield, but as someone who changes the mix – a player whose profile allows Carrick to shuffle roles, tweak shapes, and ask different questions of opponents.
For now, the questions revolve around recovery times and makeshift solutions. But once that ankle settles and the wait ends, the real examination begins: can Baleba become the midfielder United have been searching for, or does this project risk becoming another expensive what-if?
