Manchester United’s difficult run took another hit on Tuesday when Carlos Baleba picked up what appeared to be a serious injury in the Champions League meeting with Roma.

The summer signing, who had already missed the opening stretch of the campaign because of an ankle problem, looked in clear distress after pushing forward on a run in the second half. He was seen clutching his hamstring before going to the turf, and the concern around him was obvious.

Medical staff treated him on the pitch, and Baleba seemed emotional before he was withdrawn in the 51st minute and replaced by Youri Tielemans. Michael Carrick is expected to offer a fuller assessment after the final whistle.

It is a bitter blow for a player who has made only six appearances in a red shirt since arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion, but the wider impact on United may be even greater.

Carrick is already dealing with a long list of absentees. Benjamin Šeško, Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte are all still sidelined with longer-term problems, while Kobbie Mainoo has only just returned after his own spell out. Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martínez have also spent time in the infirmary.

That depleted squad has been stretched further by an underwhelming summer transfer window, leaving Carrick short of options during a demanding run of fixtures. The result has been a club unable to find a win in any of those matches, with the injury picture continuing to undermine any attempt to build momentum.

Cristiano Ronaldo has made it clear he has little interest in re-opening his dispute with Erik ten Hag. According to Morgan, the forward’s view is simple: the former Manchester United manager is not “worth talking about”.

Ten Hag’s latest comments arrived in a two-part interview with The Athletic last month, when he claimed Ronaldo “let the team down.” He later went further on Dutch television, appearing on Goedemorgen Eredivisie and saying the forward was finished by the time he left Juventus in 2021, aged 36. “For the last seven or eight years, he just hasn’t been able to deliver,” Ten Hag said, adding that it was Real Madrid’s “great gift” to allow a player to depart before the decline set in.

Ronaldo has not publicly answered those remarks, but Morgan said he asked the player directly. Speaking on his Football Uncensored YouTube channel, he said: “I did ask Cristiano about it and he said he didn’t think that Ten Hag was worth talking about.”

Morgan then offered his own opinion on the situation, arguing that Ronaldo could still have contributed plenty more at Manchester United. “I think Ronaldo could have given United another two, three years and scored a lot of goals for them,” he said. “It would have been an excellent, excellent comeback if he’d had the right manager with him. But he didn’t. He had a guy that disrespected him, treated him like s—, a bit like the Portuguese manager is trying to do now.

“These guys like to make a name for themselves out of Ronaldo.”

At 2026 stage of his career, Ronaldo is approaching the end of the road. He has already admitted that this is likely to be his final season in professional soccer, with his Al Nassr contract set to expire next summer.

He opted to continue with Portugal after the 2026 World Cup, when Lionel Messi chose to step away from Argentina for good, but matters have since unravelled again. Last month, a falling out with Jorge Jesus over what Ronaldo viewed as disrespect sparked the latest tension.

Ronaldo is now serving a one-month suspension from the national team, during a period with no international fixtures. He has also been fined a nominal amount, though there is an expectation that he will be recalled this month.

Manchester United’s search for a new manager has taken another awkward turn, with doubts emerging over the decision-making process at the top of the club. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already acknowledged the pattern that has dogged the post, saying: “There have been a whole series of coaches, some of which were very good,” Sir Jim Ratcliffe mused after taking on sporting control of Manchester United in 2024. “And none of them were ­successful, or survived for very long. The only conclusion you can draw is that the ­environment in which they were working didn’t work.”

Now, that process is under scrutiny again. Reports have suggested there is disagreement within the recruitment structure over which candidate should be prioritised, while limited financial flexibility has narrowed the options available.

Jason Wilcox is understood to favour Eddie Howe, while Christopher Vivell is said to prefer Julian Nagelsmann, his former colleague at RB Leipzig. Yet the name that appeals to many supporters, Unai Emery, appears increasingly out of reach.

Emery has reshaped Aston Villa since arriving in 2022, taking them from a side drifting toward relegation under Steven Gerrard to one that has qualified for the Champions League multiple times. His record is striking: Villa have gathered 263 points in 150 Premier League games under him, compared with United’s 236 over the same span, despite operating on a wage bill roughly half the size of United’s.

His strongest work has typically come at clubs below the modern elite. Villa were the third club to win the Europa League under his management, following Villarreal and Sevilla. His spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, by contrast, were less convincing.

“Surely he would want that opportunity to manage a giant again,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher claimed at the start of a rant which incited the threat of legal action. But that idea appears misplaced.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that Emery is “happy” at Aston Villa and has no release clause in contract. Villa are also not expected to entertain the idea of losing him to a domestic rival.

Wilcox has a strong reputation for identifying players, but his judgement on managers is less certain. He had “having reservations” over Ruben Amorim before eventually “got on board” with the Portuguese coach, who was later dismissed after a public clash. Before that, Wilcox had also “spoken highly” of Russell Martin during United’s consideration of alternatives in 2024.