Manchester United injury update ahead of Chelsea trip as Fernandes, Mainoo and Šeško face fitness questions
Manchester United will travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday, October 31, in a Premier League 2026-27 fixture, and the squad arrives with several fitness concerns involving Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Šeško.
United have endured their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign and sit 16th with seven points, winless in their last eight matches across all competitions, leaving head coach Michael Carrick under increasing pressure and with selection choices complicated by injuries.
Samuel Luckhurst reported that Fernandes had undergone treatment at Carrington recently and did not warm up until the 58th minute in the defeat against Bournemouth; Carrick has said the decision to bench him in that game was a sporting one and confirmed Fernandes would continue as club captain and was likely to play a part against Chelsea.
Kobbie Mainoo has returned to full-team training after picking up an injury against Tottenham Hotspur, and Carrick said: “Good news, Kobbie has done a little bit of training yesterday,” adding, “So, he’s back and around the group, so that’s obviously positive.”
Benjamin Šeško remains ruled out for an extended period with a shin problem that has troubled him since the start of the season; Carrick said: “Unfortunately, Ben looks like he’s going to be out for a period of time. We’re still not clear on exactly how long but it’s going to be a longer period of time.” He continued: “It was the process and, as I said to you before, we had to go through the process, a bit of a healing process for the injury, to see how it would react, in what direction to go with that… Going through this again, and for us to not have him available, is obviously a blow, but we’ll try to get him back as quick as we can.” Recent reports indicate he will not return before the start of next year.
Marcus Rashford missed the matches against Como and Bournemouth with a hip issue and will be assessed by the medical staff ahead of the Chelsea game, with his participation currently uncertain; Luke Shaw has not recovered from his problem and will miss at least two of United’s next fixtures, with a potential return against Aston Villa on November 8. Patrick Dorgu is expected to be sidelined for several weeks after suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty for Denmark.
Carrick has signalled defensive adjustments to cover absences at left-back, with Diogo Dalot set to operate on the left and Leny Yoro named to start on the right side of defence. Manuel Ugarte is out for an indefinite period after suffering a serious knee injury while representing Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup 2026, with no return date fixed.
Manchester United face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, October 31; Carrick has indicated Fernandes is likely to be involved after receiving treatment, Mainoo has returned to training, and Šeško remains unavailable for an extended period as the squad finalises fitness assessments before the match.