Manchester United injury news: Louis van Gaal delivers positive update ahead of Manchester Derby

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has delivered positive injury news ahead of their clash against Manchester City on Sunday (25 October). Ashley Young has returned to full training, but will not feature in the game, after missing the games against Everton and CSKA Moscow in the Premier League and Champions League.

Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair are the only two long-term absentees for the Dutch manager. The former will be out until the latter part of the season after suffering a double fracture during United's Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven, while the latter suffered a serious looking injury during Republic of Ireland's final Euro 2016 qualifier game against Finland.

Van Gaal is glad to have almost a full squad to select from for the Manchester Derby, something the manager did not have at his disposal earlier. During the 2014/15 campaign, the 20-time English champions suffered numerous injuries in the first half of the season, with the manager admitting that it was due to his rigorous training regime, which caught the players off guard.

United are currently in the third place in the Premier League. They are level on points with second-placed Arsenal and two points behind league leaders Manchester City. They can go on top of the Premier League table with a win at Old Trafford on Sunday if they can outscore the Gunners, who are currently ahead on goal difference.

"It's pretty good, because only Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair are long-term injuries. Ashley Young has had three weeks out of training sessions so cannot play against City," Van Gaal told United's official site. "It's always better that a manager can select from a lot of players. There have been times when I could not select from many, like last year, but this year is going much better."