Luke Shaw and Carlos Baleba could both feature for Manchester United at Fulham on Sunday, according to Michael Carrick.
Shaw has missed United’s last two matches against Manchester City and Brighton because of a minor fitness problem, while Baleba has yet to make his debut since completing a £65m move from Brighton late in the summer transfer window.
There is “a chance” that both players will play some part at Craven Cottage, Carrick said. “Not totally 100% but there is a chance. It is really short-term to be honest but it is just working towards the game so we will see how he is coming up to the weekend.”
United otherwise have no new injury concerns ahead of the match. The fixture comes after a worrying start to the season and amid questions over Carrick’s position, although the manager dismissed suggestions that his job is under threat as “ridiculous”.
“In terms of the future and ownership and how long I’ve got, it’s totally nothing,” Carrick said. “Thinking about it is ridiculous in the position I’m in. It’s just not on the radar. We’ve got to perform and we’ve got a lot of games to plan for.”
Carrick has defended United’s recent results after the club enjoyed a strong second half of last season, when they won 12 of their 17 matches under him. He said he had expected a difficult spell at some stage.
“It’s not a catastrophe, it’s not a disaster, it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “We’ve got to put things in perspective. We’re not in a place where we have gone on an awful long run of horrific results.”
Track Manchester United’s season here.
Carrick said United had suffered from “tiny margins” in recent matches and that the priority was to end the run by winning games.
“Winning games is always the answer, it can cover up a lot of things at times as well,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the small disappointments that lead to something a bit bigger. It’s part of coping and being at this great football club.”
