Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insists Luke Shaw is 'always an option' to play

Shaw was substituted at half time and criticised after United's 2-0 FA Cup win over Swansea

(Getty)

Luke Shaw could be set for a surprise Manchester United reprieve this weekend as first-choice left back Ashley Young struggles with a knee injury.

Shaw started United’s last outing, the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Brighton and Hove Albion, but was substituted at half time and later criticised by Jose Mourinho for not following tactical instructions.

The 22-year-old was understood to be upset with the treatment he received from his manager and reports subsequently suggested that Shaw’s team-mates felt he was being “bullied” by Mourinho.

Ahead of Saturday’s visit from Swansea City, however, the United manager insisted that he has no issues with selecting Shaw.

“If he’s available Luke Shaw is always an option,” he said. “Ashley Young was available to play against Brighton so I started with Luke Shaw. So that’s not a problem.”

Young, who has started as United’s first-choice left back for the majority of the season, suffered a knee injury during the closing stages of England’s 1-1 draw with Italy on Tuesday.

Mourinho said there is a still “a chance” that Young could start against Swansea, though Shaw could fill in if the 32-year-old is unavailable.

United almost have a clean bill of health for Saturday’s match, with only Sergio Romero and Daley Blind ruled out.

“Romero is injured, and I think he will for a few weeks,” Mourinho said of the second-choice goalkeeper, who came off midway through Argentina’s defeat to Spain with a knee injury.

“I think in the end he was lucky because it was a strong contusion and will take a little bit of time to recover.

“Daley Blind came back from his treatment in Holland, started training with us in the last few days and is the only one not available.

“Apart from Daley, after a couple of months out, we recovered all the other problems we had, including Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo played with Argentina so the picture improved a lot for us in that aspect.”