Michael Carrick gives Carlos Baleba injury update after Man United arrival

Michael Carrick has confirmed that new £70 million signing Carlos Baleba will be unable to make his Manchester United debut for around three weeks due to an ankle injury.

Following the summer arrivals of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, the 22-year-old completed his move from Brighton on Tuesday to further bolster the midfield.

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United director of football Jason Wilcox praised Baleba as "an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further", but fans face a wait to see him play.

The Cameroon international arrived with an ankle problem, ruling him out of Sunday's Premier League home fixture against promoted Ipswich and beyond.

"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."

Asked if Baleba and Amad Diallo could return before the three-week international break, the United boss said: "It's obviously new, the break to deal with, but we'll wait and see.

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"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."

Baleba's injury ruled him out of Brighton's Conference League fixtures and Premier League opener, with Carrick's timeline pointing to a potential debut against his former club.

United host Albion in the Carabao Cup before travelling to Fulham on September 20 – their final game before hosting Tottenham after the international break on October 10.

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Despite the delay, there is strong excitement about what the 22-year-old can achieve at Old Trafford.

"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."

United are looking for a response after last weekend's 2-0 loss at play-off winners Hull marked a nightmare start to the season.

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Marcus Rashford was introduced at half-time having been granted additional rest after the World Cup, alongside fellow substitutes Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo.

"We've got a squad to choose from. We've got a good squad and we could pick we could pick a variety kind of combinations within the team," Carrick added.

"We'll pick a team for the weekend but, yeah, certainly the boys are massively in contention."

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