Louis van Gaal
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is battling with injury worries at Old Trafford. Getty

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has said striker Radamel Falcao and defender Jonny Evans "are not ready" to start against Hull on Saturday 29 November but the duo may feature in the 18-man squad.

Colombian international Falcao has been unable to play since suffering a calf injury in training ahead of the Chelsea clash on 26 October.

Related

He has missed United's last four games but after returning to training with the team last weekend, Van Gaal stated during the press conference ahead of the Hull game he may be included in the squad alongside Marcos Rojo.

Meanwhile, Evans fractured his foot during the 5-3 defeat against Leicester City on 21 September and has since missed the last seven Premier League games.

Having returned to action earlier this week in the reserves victory over Blackburn Rovers in the Lancashire Senior Cup on Tuesday 25 November, the Northern Ireland defender may also be in the squad but Van Gaal pointed out Falcao will need more time before being ready to play for a full 90 minutes.

"Evans is, of course, out with an injury that takes a lot of weeks, so he has to develop match rhythm and that's why he had to play in the second team," Van Gaal said to MUTV.

"He played 60 minutes [against Blackburn] but then you don't already have the match rhythm of the Premier League. He is fit to play but not for the Premier League.

Speaking about Falcao, he added: "Falcao is not ready. It is the same thing with Evans. When you are out of the running for so long and not training with your fellow players and only running because of the injury, one week of training sessions is not sufficient to develop match rhythm. I need strikers now, so maybe he is in the 18."

After consecutive victories against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, Van Gaal has urged his squad to continue where they left off for the match against the Tigers.

He said: "I think we have to maintain the spirit. That's the most important thing because I think the fans of Manchester United like the working spirit of this team. They fight always until the end and that's also what we have to show, not only on the pitch but also on the training ground.

"We have to work hard to come back to being in the first four. We need also good training work but it has to be with a lot of humour also and that is what we are doing."