Carrick Dismisses Easy Start Talk Ahead of Hull Opener

Michael Carrick has dismissed claims that Manchester United have been gifted a gentle start to the new Premier League season, branding the idea “pretty ridiculous” as his side prepare to open away at newly-promoted Hull City.

United kick off with a Saturday lunchtime trip to the KCOM before hosting another top-flight newcomer, Ipswich Town, next week. On paper, some have circled those fixtures as kind. Carrick is having none of it.

“For all of us now, this league, there's no favourable start,” he insisted. “I think it's a tough start. A newly-promoted team, away from home, is a tough, tough game. I've been involved in them in the past. So fully aware of what's at stake, what's coming at us on Saturday, what we've got to be ready for. It's not favourable… it's an easy thing to throw out there, but it's pretty ridiculous in a certain way and I'm not taking it that way at all.”

This is Carrick’s first full season as permanent manager at Old Trafford, and his tone was clear: no complacency, no excuses.

Sesko and Darlow ready to return

United’s travelling squad is set for a timely lift. Benjamin Sesko and new goalkeeper Karl Darlow are both in line to be involved at Hull after missing the entirety of the club’s six pre-season friendlies.

Sesko, 23, has been out since early May with a shin injury picked up against Liverpool, a setback that wiped out his summer preparations. Now he is finally back with the group.

“Ben is back training, so that is another positive,” Carrick said. “Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes.”

Darlow has also returned to full training this week and is available for selection, giving Carrick extra security and competition in goal just as the season begins to bite.

Mount ‘touch and go’ but backed to shine

Not all the news is clean. Mason Mount is “touch and go” for the opener after suffering a foot injury in the 1-1 pre-season draw with Paris Saint-Germain.

Injuries have stalked Mount since his move to Old Trafford. Across three seasons he has managed just 72 appearances, a stop-start existence that has repeatedly cut across his rhythm. Carrick, though, refuses to let the narrative turn negative.

“First of all, Mason's a top player, top player,” he said, doubling down on his faith. “We've seen that so far in the pre-season. He was one of our best players in the early stages in the games that he played and I thought he was fantastic. So not surprising, it's what I've seen before, what I expect, what I know of him.”

For Carrick, the key now is continuity.

“Of course, he's missed some football over recent years and he wants to be fit, he wants to be in that full rhythm and he wants to stay fit. So we're doing our best to help him do that, but he's a top player, Mase. Mason will be back very, very soon, if not immediately, so it's all good.”

United know that a fully firing Mount changes the texture of their midfield. The question is whether his body will finally allow it.

Rashford reborn after Barcelona loan

If Mount is still chasing rhythm, Marcus Rashford looks like he has found his again.

After a successful loan spell at Barcelona, the 28-year-old has returned to Manchester United’s fold with a point to prove and, crucially, with his manager’s full trust. Once out of favour under previous regimes, he has impressed Carrick throughout pre-season and is now pushing to start at Hull.

“Marcus has come back fantastically well,” Carrick said. “He's enjoying his football, he looks fit, sharp, strong, and ready to play.”

Rashford has been used across the front line in training. While the left flank remains his natural home, Carrick likes the option of deploying him through the middle when needed.

Playing centrally “might not be his primary role,” the manager admitted, but that flexibility could become a key weapon across a long campaign.

No one inside Carrick’s dressing room is treating Hull away as a soft launch. With Sesko back, Rashford rejuvenated and Mount fighting to stay on the pitch, United’s season starts with questions that will not be answered on a team sheet, but in how they handle the raw, awkward reality of a promoted side on opening day.