Juan Mata hopes Manchester United stars avoid injuries on international duty after Marouane Fellaini setback

Juan Mata remains hopeful Manchester United can avoid any "physical problems" in the upcoming international fixtures after Marouane Fellaini suffered an injury setback while playing for Belgium.

The Red Devils midfielder suffered knee ligament damage during the World Cup qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday (7 October). The former Everton man was substituted after 29 minutes and Belgium later confirmed that Fellaini will be out for a "couple of weeks".

Manager Jose Mourinho is already without Paul Pogba, who is recovering from the hamstring injury he suffered in the first Champions League clash of the season against Basel, while Michael Carrick has also been unavailable for the last two games due to injury.

Although England have played their last World Cup qualifier against Lithuania, other European and South American nations are yet to play their second fixture of this international break.

Mata, who has not been selected for the Spain squad, has wished Fellaini well. "I also hope that none of my teammates has physical problems in the second game with the national teams as it was the case with Fellaini, to whom I wish a speedy recovery," Mata wrote in his weekly blog.

United travel to Anfield as they face Liverpool on 14 October, and Mata has urged his teammates to walk away from the stadium with three points in "one of the big games" of the season.

"Obviously, we also have to talk about our next Premier League game, in Anfield. This is one of the big games of the season without a doubt," the former Chelsea star stressed.

"There's no need to say what it means for us and for our fans, and I hope that we can play a great game and take the three points to Manchester. We will try to extend our good run of results since the season started," Mata added.