Manchester United starlet Andreas Pereira to miss final games of season after linking up with Brazil Under-20 squad

Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira will not feature in the club's final two games of the season having left the squad to join up with Brazil ahead of the Under-20s World Cup.

Pereira, 19, signed a new three-year contract at Old Trafford in April and had been expected to feature again before the end of the season having made his first Premier League appearance against Tottenham Hotspur in March.

Speaking to the press ahead of the visit of Arsenal on Sunday, Louis van Gaal said the attacking midfielder would have been considered for selection, but is now unavailable after being called up for the youth tournament in New Zealand, which gets underway on 30 May.

"Pereira is also a member of our selection but he was invited to play in for Brazil the Under-20s World Cup," van Gaal told reporters.

Brazil begin their campaign on 1 June against Nigeria.

United will also be without Wayne Rooney, Luke Shaw, Michael Carrick, Rafael da Silva and Jonny Evans for the visit of Arsene Wenger's side.

Pereira, who opted to represent Brazil over his country of birth Belgium, is also likely to be unavailable for his side's final game of the season against Hull City next week. The attacking midfielder has spent the last week training with his international teammates and tweeted on Saturday 16 May: "On the way to the World Cup, let's go Brazil!"

Pereira spent much of the season playing for United's Under-21 ranks who were on Friday crowned Under-21 Premier League champions for the second time in three years.

A 4-0 thrashing of neighbours Manchester City earlier this week saw Warren Joyce's side move onto the brink of title success and secured the league without kicking a ball on Friday as Chelsea, the only team still capable of halting their charge, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to bottom side West Ham United.