Manchester United vs Aston Villa: Bastian Schweinsteiger expected to miss the rest of the season

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has claimed that Bastian Schweinsteiger is expected to miss the rest of this season's campaign, but he could still makes the Euro 2016 with Germany. The Dutch boss also revealed that Ander Herrera is a doubt for the weekend clash against Aston Villa on Saturday (16 April) after the Spaniard picked up a knocked during the FA Cup win over West Ham on Wednesday night (14 April).

Wayne Rooney will be available for selection though after the captain returned to action at Upton Park following two months on the sidelines while the manager was also optimistic about the recovery of long-term injury Luke Shaw.

Schweinsteiger, 31, has been hit by a number of injuries since his summer arrival for Bayern Munich, making only 13 starting appearances in the Premier League. The German is yet to play since the win over Manchester City on 20 March and Van Gaal has suggested that he will not return to action before the end of the campaign.

"I don't think Schweinsteiger shall play this season - I think, next season, he is prepared," the boss said to MUTV. "Maybe he is prepared for the European Championship, I cannot predict. It is possible, but then that is also in our favour because then he is fit for the new competition."

Herrera could also miss the coming game with Aston Villa after the Spaniard suffered an injury during FA Cup quarter final replay at West Ham, being replaced by Morgan Schneiderlin in the 76<sup>th minute of the game.

"I don't know yet for sure, he [Herrera] was injured, but the problem is that we have to recover again within two days," he said. "That is a continuing problem, because we have to play so many matches when you are in so many competitions during this season, that is the only problem."

When asked in the press conference about the severity of the problem, the boss added: "At this moment, I don't know, as the diagnosis is still yet to come. It is better to do that after two days, so I haven't heard about him yet. It is not so heavy we think, but we have to wait and see."

Rooney, meanwhile, made his long-awaited comeback in the last minutes of the 2-1 victory over the Hammers after replacing Marcus Rashford. Van Gaal says that the captain is eager to play but suggesting he is not yet 100% ready for 90 minutes.

"He [Rooney] always wants to play. Yes, I think he shall receive more minutes but it's always dependable on the game," the boss said. "You cannot say in advance that I give you 20 minutes or something like that; when it's possible, I shall do that because we need Wayne in the team."

Van Gaal, meanwhile, provided positive news over Shaw as the former Southampton left-back is "going great" in the recovery from the double leg fracture he suffered during the Champions League 2-1 defeat to PSV earlier in September.

The boss said: "Shaw is now training on the pitch with the physiotherapist; it's not with a trainer-coach, so that's the difference. But he's going great, it's unbelievable."

The manager also suggested that he will rotate his line-up against the Premier League club as United will have another midweek game with Crystal Palace.

"Yes, yes, I think so. I have to. It's also better for the players, I think, but we have to wait and see if I do that tomorrow or [against] Palace. Everton in the FA Cup is, of course, [a game where] we have to line up the strongest team."