Nine Man United Players Face Fitness Tests Ahead of Spurs Showdown

Manchester United's injury list is piling up at the worst possible time. According to a report in The Sun carried by Sports Mole on Tuesday, the club will need to run late fitness checks on nine first-team players before Saturday afternoon's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. There is some relief for Michael Carrick: Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, who both pulled out of England's squad during the international break, are expected to be available for selection. But the news is far less promising for Benjamin Sesko. The £74m striker missed the last game before the break against Fulham with a recurring shin problem, sat out Slovenia's matches during the international window, and now faces a race against time — with reports warning the issue could be in danger of becoming chronic. It is a damaging blow for a player who has only just started to find his feet after missing the end of last season and the whole of pre-season. Patrick Dorgu picked up a hamstring problem on duty with Denmark, while Noussair Mazraoui also returned from international football with a concern and both must be assessed. Bruno Fernandes was dealing with an issue during the break but featured for Portugal and should be fine barring any late setback. There is also optimism that Amad, yet to feature this season, could make the bench. The timing could hardly be worse. United have managed just five points from their opening five matches and sit 12th, but Saturday's visitors Tottenham prop up the entire division with only two points from the same number of games. With the fanbase already restless, Carrick can ill afford a depleted squad for a fixture neither side can afford to lose.