Schiško officially announces withdrawal from the national team, may still be sidelined for a month! The Manchester United castoff hopes for a turnaround

Manchester United striker Schiško has been removed from Slovenia’s squad for the current international window, although the club maintains his knee injury isn’t severe. The 22-year-old sustained the knee issue during a one-on-one moment against Spurs and will continue to be monitored by club medical staff at Carrington this week.

Slovenia’s coach Matjaž Kek mentioned that the national team’s medical staff should evaluate Schiško before making a decision. British media revealed that Manchester United officials spent several hours coordinating with the Slovenian Football Association before confirming Schiško’s withdrawal from the squad.

Schiško is confirmed to miss Slovenia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Sweden over the next two weeks, both crucial matches for the team’s survival in the competition.

Slovenia must defeat Kosovo and at least draw with Sweden to have a chance at playoff qualification. As the team’s key player, Schiško’s withdrawal indicates his injury truly prevents him from playing.

Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano explained the real meaning behind the official statement that Schiško’s injury isn’t serious: “While Manchester United hasn’t issued an official statement on Schiško, internally it’s felt this won’t be a major injury—nothing that sidelines him for six months or more. It won’t be six or seven months, nor eight months, that’s the club’s view. Recovery will take some time, it won’t be instant, but it won’t be an extremely long absence either.”

When Schiško left the Tottenham pitch on Saturday, he wasn’t using crutches but wasn’t moving freely either. Currently, there are two predictions about his injury. The mildest scenario suggests recovery in one or two weeks, which would mean he wouldn’t miss any Manchester United matches, as the team’s next game is two weeks away.

However, another forecast estimates Schiško will be out for five weeks. If that happens, he would only return in the match against Bournemouth before Christmas. During this period, Manchester United face Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and Wolves in four games.

If the latter scenario occurs, Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee will see a final chance. He hasn’t started since April but might hope to prove himself soon. However, last season against Tottenham, Amrabat already stated that Zirkzee is not a suitable number 9.

Almost everyone agrees that Amrabat’s opinion is correct. Since December 1 last year, Zirkzee hasn’t scored in the Premier League. If he starts, he can only play a withdrawn support role, hoping players like Mbembo and Cunha come from behind to score.

But during the Africa Cup of Nations, when top scorer Mbembo leaves, Amrabat might worry about the team’s lack of goal scorers, since this season, apart from Mbembo and Casemiro, no other player has scored more goals than the own goals contributed by opponents!

Romano revealed that after Schiško’s injury diagnosis becomes clearer, the club will negotiate with Zirkzee and his agent about his future in January. If under the current circumstances the 24-year-old Dutch international still doesn’t get playing time, he will strongly push for a move in the winter transfer window to participate in next year’s World Cup.

Amrabat’s other striker option is Danish youngster Chido Obi, brought in from Arsenal’s academy, but last season, his ability to seize chances in Manchester United’s first team appeared even weaker than Zirkzee’s.