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Louis van Gaal has suffered yet more injury woe with Rafael Da Silva and Luke Shaw the latest players to be injured for Manchester United.
The pair were both injured in the 2-0 FA Cup win against Yeovil Town on Sunday, leaving the Dutch coach with a serious shortage of defenders for the match at Southampton next Sunday.
Van Gaal has now used a massive 37 players this season in all competitions; in comparison Premier League leaders Chelsea, who have played eight more games this season in the Champions League and Capital One Cup, have only used 21.
"Rafa has a fracture, so it’s not looking good, and Shaw has an ankle problem," Van Gaal told MUTV. "I had to change, and I don’t have more defenders, so I have to change the shape also.
"Rafael had a fresh injury so it was fantastic that he had the guts to play through. He has a fantastic mentality, it's unbelievable. But I had to change him and Shaw because they aren't 100 per cent fit."
The injury tally includes three separate spells on the sideline for Ashley Young, four for Ander Herrera and five each for Angel Di Maria and Shaw. However, United are finally ready to welcome several players back into the first-team fold, confirmed Van Gaal.
Manchester United injury list
Show all 5"We can be very happy because the players are coming back now," he explained. "Angel Di Maria is coming back, Daley Blind is coming back, Marcos Rojo is coming back – so we have more left-footed players, and that we need also. I have to solve every week another problem, and now during a match."
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