Carrick Stays On as United Confirm Šeško Injury Blow Before Chelsea Trip

Michael Carrick will take charge of Manchester United's trip to Chelsea this weekend after the club opted against dismissing him in the wake of Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, according to BBC Sport reporting relayed by Metro Football.

That result left United without a win in eight matches across all competitions and stuck in 16th place in the Premier League table, intensifying speculation over Carrick's position and over possible successors including Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte, Julian Nagelsmann and Fabian Hurzeler.

Carrick was pictured completing a solitary lap of the Old Trafford pitch after the final whistle, a moment widely interpreted as a farewell to supporters who had stayed behind.

Gary Neville, speaking to Sky Sports, said he had been certain the Bournemouth defeat would end Carrick's spell in charge. "I am really surprised that ultimately Michael is still in the job but I'm happy with it because the fact of the matter is it was very difficult on Sunday," Neville said.

Neville added he hoped Carrick could get his squad performing for him again, noting: "They haven't played for him in the last few weeks."

Carrick oversaw training at Carrington on Tuesday and is expected to take his place in the dugout for Saturday's lunchtime kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of that fixture, Carrick confirmed further bad news on the injury front, with Benjamin Šeško facing an extended spell on the sidelines because of a shin problem. The striker has not featured since United's Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton.

"Unfortunately, Ben looks like he's going to be out for a period of time," Carrick said, as reported by Yahoo Sports. "We're still not clear on exactly how long but it's going to be a longer period of time."

Carrick explained the club had needed to let the injury progress before deciding on treatment. "It was the process and, as I said to you before, we had to go through the process, a bit of a healing process for the injury, to see how it would react, in what direction to go with that," he said. "So, even now, we're still working through it but, yeah, it's unfortunate."

He acknowledged the setback was significant for both player and squad. "Obviously, first and foremost, for Ben, for the kind of period that he's had and tried to get through it," Carrick added. "Going through this again, and for us to not have him available, is obviously a blow, but we'll try to get him back as quick as we can."

There was more encouraging news on Kobbie Mainoo, who has missed United's last four matches but has now returned to training. "Kobbie has done a little bit of training yesterday," Carrick said. "So, he's back and around the group, so that's obviously positive."

With United searching for a response at Stamford Bridge, Sky Sports tipster Lewis Jones, known as Jones Knows, has backed Carrick's side to produce a reaction against Chelsea as part of his weekend Premier League predictions.

Saturday's lunchtime kick-off will test whether Carrick can arrest the winless run before further pressure builds on his position.