Rafael And Shaw Injured At Yeovil

Louis van Gaal has explained his half-time substitutions at Yeovil Town were both down to injury as Rafael and Luke Shaw were forced off during Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Huish Park.

The Brazilian has a suspected fractured cheekbone, while England international Shaw sustained an ankle problem. The defensive pair did not reappear after half-time of the FA Cup third-round tie, with the Reds bringing on Juan Mata and Jonny Evans and reverting to a flat back-four.

In addition to Rafael and Shaw’s injuries, Paddy McNair played for the much of the game with a bandage around his head following an aerial with Yeovil’s Kieffer Moore, but the centre-back was able to battle through the full 90 minutes.

“Rafa has a fracture, so it’s not looking good, and Shaw has an ankle problem,” the manager 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.

“I put a midfielder extra in and, because of that, maybe we had more ball possession in the second half, and we had more patience.

“We have to change from five to four, we played four in midfield in the second half, then we played better and we more patient, we kept the ball better also and, because of that, we could score the winning goal.”

The news on the injury front is not all bad for van Gaal who also revealed several stars are on the mend and could force their way back into contention this month.

"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."