Manchester United injury news: Phil Jones suffers setback as Red Devils return to winning ways

Louis van Gaal has revealed that Phil Jones injured himself in the match against Swansea City which Manchester United won 2-1. It was a good start to the year for the Dutchman, whose team managed their first win in the league since November against Watford, having failed in their last eight games in all competitions.

Van Gaal inducted Jones into the team in place of Matteo Darmian, with Ashley Young being pushed into a full-back position. The latest injury takes their total count to five, but the fans have something to cheer about, with Ander Herrera and Young, as confirmed by the manager, were taken off before the full time whistle out of precaution.

The manager stated that the injury to Jones was recurrence of a previous setback but refused to give a timeline for his recovery. The win took them to 33 points, back into the fifth spot and with some clear daylight between themselves and Liverpool, who lost to West Ham. The Red Devils travel to Anfield on 17 January in a game which can have a major impact on the fight for a place in the top four.

"Jones is injured, more or less the same injury as before. Young has played a lot of matches in a row, so he was stiff and had to be changed. It was not voluntary; I changed them because I needed to change. With Herrera, it was because I wanted to waste time, as Swansea did all match," Van Gaal told Manchester United's official website after the game.

The game was of major significance to Wayne Rooney, who broke his goalscoring duck with a brilliant one late in the second half. Anthony Martial turned provider here after the Frenchman had opened the scoring for the Red Devils to give them the lead. Swansea came back with a goal to equalise, but Rooney's goal saved Van Gaal the blushes, who was under massive pressure following a series of underwhelming performances.