Carlos Baleba’s Man United Debut Edges Closer, With Return Targeted for After the October Break

Carlos Baleba is yet to pull on a Manchester United shirt competitively, but the picture around his return is finally coming into focus after weeks of uncertainty.

The move and the setback

United finally landed their long-term midfield target this summer, signing Baleba from Brighton & Hove Albion for an initial fee in the region of £65 million. It capped off a busy rebuild of the middle of the park, with Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans also arriving before the window closed. But where his fellow new arrivals have already made their debuts, Baleba has been sidelined the entire time with an ankle injury he was carrying on arrival.

Carrick’s update

Michael Carrick had initially hoped Baleba might feature before September’s international break, but that timeline slipped. Ahead of United’s Carabao Cup tie against his old club Brighton, Carrick confirmed the midfielder would sit that one out too, telling reporters he’d be “back in and around the group at some point over the next week or so,” which should leave him in good shape once the international break arrives.

Reporting from Manchester Evening News has since sharpened that picture further: Baleba is not expected to feature in any of United’s three games before the break — against Manchester City, Brighton in the cup, or Fulham — with his return instead being targeted for after it.

What comes next

The expectation now is that Baleba steps up his training at Carrington over the coming days, building toward full training with the squad once players are back from international duty in October. United’s home match against Tottenham, the first fixture after the break, is shaping up as the most realistic opportunity for his first appearance in a United shirt.

Once available, he’ll be competing for a midfield spot alongside Kobbie Mainoo, Tielemans and Santos — added depth Carrick will be glad to have given how stretched his options have looked through United’s shaky start to the season.

There’s no official, locked-in date yet, and clubs are typically cautious with returning players who’ve had recurring fitness issues. But barring a setback, “after the international break, likely against Spurs” is where things currently stand.