Team News – Manchester United vs West Ham

Louis van Gaal has confirmed that Marcos Rojo and Wayne Rooney will miss Manchester United’s Premier League encounter against West Ham on Saturday.

The Dutchman told MUTV that Rojo dislocated his shoulder in training on Wednesday, although it was unclear how long the Argentinian defender would be out for. The 25-year-old suffered the same injury last season against Manchester City in November and he was on the sidelines for more than a month.

Rooney, meanwhile, picked up an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City last weekend and the problem is apparently worse than it seems. The captain will therefore miss out on making his 500th appearance for United this weekend and it is unclear how long he will be out for.

The pair join Ander Herrera, Phil Jones (who both picked up injuries against Watford two weeks ago) and long-term absentees Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia on the sidelines.

There is some respite for van Gaal however, as Jesse Lingard has recovered from a tight hamstring and is fit to play against the Hammers.

Here’s what the Dutchman had to say about the injuries:

It was already in the media – Rojo has been injured. It’s his shoulder, the same as last year, in a training session. It’s very unfortunate, also in the position of Luke Shaw so I have a great problem. Lingard is coming back which is good news. Jones is still injured so we have six injuries.

Wayne’s is a nasty injury. When we go on it’s been getting worse. We have to let him train to make the ankle stronger, that’s very important. I cannot say [how long he’ll be out] because the doctor shall decide that with Wayne of course. He is training well in the rehabilitation.

The week after next we have two weeks that we can have more recovery. I have already given the players two days off this week. I am giving them a lot of rest because I think it is necessary now, nevertheless we have six injuries most of which are contact injuries. You cannot avoid those because football is a sport with direct resistance. We are unlucky I have to say.