Man United without two key players for must-win game against Leeds
“He’s part of the squad, yeah,” Carrick said of the Argentine in Friday's pre-match press conference.
“We’ll see on Luke and Kobbie.
“Ben’s kind of still undergoing a couple of checks before we update on timelines or anything. We’re just trying to be clear with what that looks like.
“He’s still a little bit further away, but when we know we’ll let you know.”
Ruled out: Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo
Getty
It has since been confirmed that neither Mainoo or Shaw are involved against Leeds, with Carrick explaining their absences.
“Close-ish, not close enough,” the Man United head coach told Sky Sports when asked how close Shaw and Mainoo were to making the matchday squad. “It is what it is, we have to adapt and adjust.
“This is why we have the squad and we have to be versatile at certain times and today we have a good team and the boys are looking forward to it.”
Carrick, though, does have plenty of options at his disposal in midfield as Carlos Baleba’s timely return from injury sees him make his first Premier League start for the Red Devils, alongside Andrey Santos in the absence of Mainoo.
United are in desperate need of a win having gone five games without one across all competitions.