Star Metro - Man Utd new signing Baleba sidelined for three weeks

Baleba's £70 million ($95 million) move from Brighton further bolstered Carrick's midfield options after the arrivals of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.

But United could have to wait until October to see Baleba in action as he faces a race against time to return before a three-week international break next month.

"He's got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks. We'll see but we knew that before, so it's no major issue but it'll be great to have him back when we can," Carrick told his pre-match press conference ahead of Ipswich's visit on Sunday.

"We're delighted to have Carlos. I think (he has) huge potential, massive potential. I think he's a really exciting signing for us.

"I think the quality that he has, the attributes that he has that offsets a little bit of the balance of the group that we've got. Different strengths, different combinations."

Carrick was rewarded with the United job on a permanent basis after guiding the Red Devils to third in the Premier League last season during an interim spell in charge.

However, the new campaign got off to the worst possible start for Carrick with a 2-0 defeat at newly-promoted Hull last weekend.

Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez all started that match on the bench after missing most of pre-season due to their participation in the latter stages of the World Cup.

Carrick confirmed all three could return to the starting line-up, but Amad Diallo will miss out once more through injury.

P.Beaulieu--SMC