LONDON — Ruben Amorim has expressed concerns that Benjamin Sesko might be facing a significant injury lay-off after the Manchester United forward, acquired for £74 million ($97m), sustained a knee issue while limping off during the 2-2 draw against Tottenham.
Sesko, who was brought on in the 58th minute, left the pitch in the 88th minute following a challenge by Spurs defender Micky van de Ven.
Although the Slovenian international was able to walk off after treatment, Amorim voiced his worries about the severity of Sesko’s injury when asked post-match.
“We need to evaluate the situation,” Amorim stated to reporters. “He’s experiencing discomfort in his knee, so we’ll see what happens. There’s a possibility of a problem.”
When asked specifically if Sesko could be out for an extended period due to the injury, Amorim didn’t provide any optimistic updates.
“It’s in the knee, and the severity is uncertain,” he said. “Right now, my main concern is the injury itself, not his form.”
With United preparing to lose forwards Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo to the Africa Cup of Nations for their respective national teams of Ivory Coast and Cameroon next month, Amorim indicated that the club may need to consider strengthening their squad in January, especially if Sesko’s injury keeps him out.
“We need to assess the situation with Ben, but we are already aware we have an issue with the AFCON players,” Amorim explained. “This is something we anticipated, so we need to prepare accordingly.”
“Managing that situation will be challenging, but we’ll see in January if we can make improvements to the team to address this issue.”
United is still in the race for Champions League qualification after extending their unbeaten Premier League streak to five matches, though Amorim’s side has drawn their last two away games, earning late equalisers against Spurs and Nottingham Forest.
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However, Amorim believes United could have secured a win against Spurs if they had been more “brave.”
“We face many challenges, but we are starting to improve,” he noted. “Yet, we should have performed better, been more aggressive, and engaged with the stadium atmosphere.”
“The three points were there for the taking. We controlled the game, but we can still do more.”
“When you can’t win, it’s crucial not to lose, and once again we managed that. We’ve got much growth ahead as a team, and today was an opportunity for us to win.”
“We need to reflect on our performance. Our pressing lacked intensity, and we became too comfortable. If we had shown more bravery, we could have killed off the game.”