Benjamin Sesko’s struggling second season shows a pattern that has emerged for Michael Carrick before Manchester United’s return to Premier League action against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

The 23-year-old Slovenian forward has made six appearances across all competitions for Manchester United in the 2026-27 campaign and netted twice for the Red Devils.

Benjamin Sesko’s injury woes have left Michael Carrick without a natural striker in the Man Utd starting XI for 10 matches

According to BBC Sport on Wednesday, Benjamin Sesko will now miss the remainder of 2026 due to his ongoing shin injury. The Slovenia international already had to play catch-up in the current campaign after he missed the entirety of Manchester United’s pre-season summer tour.

Joshua Zirkzee has been incorporated into the attacking dynamic this season, but the 25-year-old Dutch striker has not made a single start so far. The Netherlands international has made all eight of his appearances across all competitions from the bench, but he has scored once so far this season.

Joshua Zirkzee found the back of the net deep into injury time during Man Utd’s crushing 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League last week. The United star is not a traditional forward like Sesko, having previously labelled himself as more of a hybrid attacker.

“I occasionally drop down to midfield,” he told The Daily Mirror in 2024.

“I don’t do that for myself but to help the team. I am what I call a false striker. Not a No 9, not a No 10. I am a 9.5! That’s my game. Maybe I’m a little different than others. But being different is good, right?”

Considering Carrick’s woes this season ahead of the visit to Stamford Bridge, Man Utd’s so-called ‘9.5’ attacker might have to be in the starting XI and be forced to play as a natural No 9. Carrick’s experiments might need to be put on the back burner and the Man Utd boss should opt for Zirkzee against Chelsea to try and properly plug the void in the lone forward role.