Man Utd's Summer Transfer Failures Come Back to Haunt Them as Injury Crisis Deepens

Manchester United are anxiously monitoring the fitness of left back Luke Shaw after he sat out Thursday's Champions League win over Sabah due to injury.

Shaw, the squad's only specialist left back under Michael Carrick, hobbled off in the closing stages of the weekend's stalemate with Everton and was absent for the Sabah fixture, with the manager confirming his condition will need to be assessed ahead of Sunday's high-stakes derby against Manchester City.

"It's a little bit of [managing him]," Carrick said of Shaw's absence before the game. "He came off the other day with a little bit of cramp. We didn't want to take any risks really.

"We tried to manage him so we will see how he is after this one."

The One Issue Michael Carrick Hoped to Avoid

The 2025 summer transfer window was dominated by attacking reinforcements, while 2026 saw the focus shift to midfield, with United investing heavily in Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba.

Although United supporters acknowledged the necessity of strengthening in central midfield, the window closed with a sense of frustration over the club's failure to sign another left back to push Shaw in what promises to be a demanding four-competition campaign for the Red Devils.

Having that thin squad depth put to the test so quickly after the window shut is almost darkly ironic, with United hoping they won't be made to immediately regret not addressing their defensive options.

In Shaw's absence against Sabah, Patrick Dorgu stepped in, though his best position remains something of an open question. The Danish international has been deployed on the left wing by Carrick, yet he was originally acquired as an attacking wing back to fit neatly into Ruben Amorim's ultimately ill-fated 3-4-2-1 system.

Dorgu encountered little difficulty against Sabah, which was hardly surprising. The Azerbaijani league champions deserve recognition for reaching the Champions League, but a significant quality gap between the two sides on Thursday was always inevitable. The same cannot be said for Sunday's derby.

Jamaican international Kaheem Parris was Dorgu's opponent on Thursday. On Sunday, he could face any of Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki.

Man Utd's Alternatives at Left Back

Carrick will be eager to take the game to City, especially at home, but the reality is that the freedom to push forward aggressively simply won't be available the way it was against Sabah. Dorgu's attacking instincts could prove too much of a gamble.

The expectation is that Shaw will be fit to return. The 31-year-old doesn't appear to be dealing with anything too serious, though that will only provide Carrick with modest reassurance given Shaw's well-documented injury history over the years. He is one of those players where taking unnecessary risks is simply not an option.

Should Shaw be unable to start or see out the full 90 minutes, Carrick may lean towards a more defensively dependable option. His alternatives lie on the opposite flank, with the adaptability of right backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui likely to be called upon regularly in the months ahead.

Mazraoui served as Shaw's primary cover last season and is expected to fill that role again this time around.