Michael Carrick has explained why Amad Diallo is a surprise absentee from the Manchester United squad to face Hull.

The Ivorian winger was the headline omission as Carrick named his 20-man matchday group for Saturday’s lunchtime trip to the MKM Stadium on the opening weekend in the Premier League, despite starting and playing for an hour in their final friendly against AC Milan last weekend.

No Amad is a real blow to Man Utd, with the 24-year-old having enjoyed an impressive campaign last term and also caught the eye during pre-season as one of the club’s key players in attack, plus shining for Ivory Coast at the World Cup.

Providing an update ahead of kick-off against Hull, Carrick said that Amad was being assessed after picking up a “niggle” in training late in the week.

United are said to hope that Amad is back “soon”, but an exact timeframe for his return remains unclear at this stage.

Carrick told TNT Sports: “He [Amad] picked up a niggle at the end of the week so we are just assessing that. Hopefully we get Amad back pretty soon. He's been in a good place but we will deal with that.”

Amad joins Mason Mount on the sidelines, with the latter not in the squad to face Hull either after Carrick said on Friday that he was “touch and go” to be involved after suffering a foot injury during a pre-season friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in Sweden earlier this month.

Matthijs de Ligt also does not feature as he continues to build up his fitness following a long-term back complaint that has kept him out since November, while Manuel Ugarte faces months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury suffered at the World Cup.

Veteran third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton has a hamstring injury, though Karl Darlow has now recovered from a minor procedure undergone during the latter stages of his time at Leeds last season as he backs up first-choice stopper Senne Lammens on Humberside.

Benjamin Sesko is on the bench after a lingering shin problem that saw him sit out pre-season entirely, joining Marcus Rashford, who has now been handed the vacant No9 shirt as he prepares to potentially make his first competitive appearance for United since December 2024 following loan spells at Barcelona and Aston Villa.

There are debuts in midfield for new signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, who will soon be joined at Old Trafford by Carlos Baleba, who is set to undergo a medical this weekend after a deal worth an initial £65million plus a further £5m in add-ons was agreed with Brighton on Friday evening.

However, Baleba is currently nursing an ankle ligament injury sustained during pre-season and will likely not be available to make his first United appearance until next month.