Manchester United vs FC Midtjylland: David de Gea out but Marcos Rojo returns to match-day squad

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will welcome Marcos Rojo back into his match-day squad for Thursday's (25 February) Europa League clash with Midtjylland, but David de Gea remains ruled out. Rojo, 26, has been absent after suffering a shoulder injury in December 2015, one of United's many defensive options who have been sidelined during the opening months of the year.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the visit of the Danish champions – with United trailing 2-1 from the first-leg –Van Gaal told reporters the Argentina international will be on the bench, but is likely to be restricted to just 20 minutes of playing time.

Antonio Valencia, meanwhile, is also making swift progress in his bid to return to the first team having undergone foot surgery in November, but is not ready for Thursday's tie at Old Trafford.

Adnan Januzaj trained as well, having recovered from a knock of his own suffered in a recent Under-21s match. However he is ineligible to play in the Europa League, having already represented Borussia Dortmund in the competition earlier this season.

United's injury list grew to 16 following Monday's win over Shrewsbury Town and also includes de Gea, who suffered a knee injury in the warm-up ahead of last week's first-leg defeat. Van Gaal insisted after the match the problem was not a serious one, but told reporters the Spain international will not be involved on Thursday. "I was hoping for that but he shall not be involved, that is already certain" he said.

Valencia, De Gea and Januzaj will miss the Midtjylland game along with Will Keane, Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Marouane Fellaini, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Chris Smalling were initial injury concerns after missing a morning training session but both joined up with the rest of the group later on, according to United's official website. Jesse Lingard was also part of the training group despite picking up a knock in the win over Shrewsbury.

Van Gaal was full of praise for Midtjylland, who celebrated the most famous result in the club's 17-year history against United. When asked if his side should be beating clubs like the Danish champions without a fuss, the Dutchman responded: "No, I think Midtjylland has a very good organisation, very detailed and the players want to perform that organisation. They play with diagonal pressing. I do that also with my team. Not many teams are doing that. And when I see the data of Midtjylland they have always won against English opponents."