Big name absent and more talking points from Benjamin Sesko's first Man United training session

Big name absent and more talking points from Benjamin Sesko's first Man United training session

Benjamin Sesko trained with his new Manchester United teammates for the first time on Sunday, seven days before they play Arsenal.

Benjamin Sesko trained on Sunday.

The new season is upon Manchester United and they have three new forwards to pit against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday.

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Benjamin Sesko's arrival eight days before United's opening Premier League fixture is well timed. United head coach Ruben Amorim trialled Matheus Cunha, Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo up front in United's friendly draws with Fiorentina and Everton.

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Sesko arrived in Manchester on Thursday and he has already dined at Spinningfields and San Carlo as he settles into his new home. More importantly, he will have had a full week to familiarise himself with his new teammates at Carrington.

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Here are some talking points from Sesko's first training session at United:

Where's Hojlund?

United uploaded pictures from their post-Fiorentina training session on Monday but they are dated Sunday August 10. So the session took place the day after the 1-1 draw.

The day after a match is a recovery day for starters. Bruno Fernandes was captured by club photographers but he looks more like a ball-boy than a participant.

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Every substitute who came on against Fiorentina (Luke Shaw, Matthijs de Ligt, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot) is accounted for. So are unused substitutes Tom Heaton, Chido Obi, Tyler Fredricson, Toby Collyer, Diego Leon and Dermot Mee.

The only substitute not visible in the imagery is Rasmus Hojlund. That seems somewhat significant amid United's efforts to offload him to AC Milan.

Sesko should be ready

Sesko will have had a full week of training to prepare for the Arsenal match. United players are bullish about the new season partly due to the ample recovery time they will have between matches in the absence of any European football but August is always a sparse month.

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Sesko in training (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)

The 22-year-old Sesko played 45 minutes for RB Leipzig during their pre-season schedule and that was on July 19, so he is short of minutes. Amorim has ensured the majority of United's core squad members have had sufficient playing time over their five friendlies (Fernandes and Amad were the only two to start all five friendlies) and United looked fitter than they had done in pre-season for several years.

Yet with Hojlund out in the cold, Joshua Zirkzee only just back from injury and no other senior striker, Sesko has to start. A full week at Carrington should stand him in good stead.

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Mazraoui absent again

Defender Noussair Mazraoui remains an injury concern ahead of United's Premier League opener.

The Morocco international missed United's final four games of pre-season after featuring in the first half of their opening friendly of the summer against Leeds United just over three weeks ago.

Despite travelling to the United States for the club's pre-season tour, he played no part in any of their Premier League Summer Series fixtures and was last pictured training two days before the tour opener against West Ham United in New Jersey.

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Since the United squad returned to England early last week, the club has not uploaded any training images or footage of the defender, meaning he could miss out on Sunday.

Noussair Mazraoui has had a tough summer. (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)

Youngsters aim to impress

With plenty of first-team players not taking part in the session, United boosted the numbers by including some academy players. Among those pictured were Jaydan Kamason, Fredricson, Rhys Bennett, Jacob Devaney, Sekou Kone, James Scanlon, Ethan Ennis, Ethan Williams and Bendito Mantato.

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Fredricson was the only player from the aforementioned list to be included in the matchday squad against Fiorentina, but he failed to make it off the bench.

Alongside Fredricson, Kone, Williams and Mantato were named in the United squad for their tour of the US.

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