Manchester United's Sesko Out of Slovenia Squad With Shin Injury

Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko has withdrawn from Slovenia's Nations League squad with a shin problem, the forward's second absence in the space of three days.

The 23-year-old sat out Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw at Fulham after picking up the injury in last week's League Cup defeat to Brighton, and he will now miss Slovenia's two matches in this international window as well.

A stop-start stretch for United's striker

For a centre-forward still establishing himself at Old Trafford, the timing is unwelcome. Sesko had been building toward a run in the side, and the shin complaint interrupts it at the moment United's attack was being settled. He travelled neither to Craven Cottage nor to national-team camp — a sign the club and Slovenia's staff agree the problem needs a window of rest rather than management through matches.

The injury leaves Slovenia without their most high-profile forward for two Nations League fixtures, a blow for a nation whose attack is built around him.

What it means for United

For United, the arithmetic is simpler. The international break now becomes recovery time: Sesko stays at the club, treats the shin, and targets the return of domestic football. The concern is whether an issue carried since the Brighton game heals fully in two weeks, or lingers into October the way soft-tissue knocks tend to when rushed.

United's medical staff will re-assess him ahead of the next league fixture, with a firmer return timeline expected once the swelling and pain settle. Until then, the club's forwards picture is one body lighter — and Slovenia's is too.

Sesko's withdrawal also narrows the options for whoever picks the next United team sheet. A striker ruled out of both club and country duty in the same week leaves no ambiguity for the coaching staff: the attack must be planned without him, and the replacement pairing that finished the Fulham game becomes the probable starting combination until he is cleared. How quickly the shin settles will decide whether that is a one-week arrangement or a longer one.