Manchester United's injury list grows as star defender ruled out for 'number of weeks'

Manchester United have suffered yet another injury blow as defender Luke Shaw has been ruled out for a "number of weeks."

Shaw, who featured in Manchester United's starting XI in their 2-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur, has sustained a muscle injury and will miss the forthcoming games, the Red Devils have confirmed in a statement. However, Shaw's exact return date has not been confirmed as yet.

"The muscle issue is still being assessed but the England left-back is expected to be out of action for a number of weeks," said Man Utd in a statement.

This news has come ahead of Manchester United's Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest, their second home game of the 2023-24 campaign. The Old Trafford side kick-started the season with a 1-0 victory over Wolves.

Shaw, who started his football career at Southampton, has been an injury-prone player. Although last season, he missed just three games because of injury. In the 2021-22 campaign, the Manchester United left-back was sidelined for 18 matches because of multiple issues and missed the same tally of games the year before that. Since his arrival in Manchester in 2014, Shaw has made 262 appearances in all competitions.

Mason Mount is also out with injury

Shaw has joined his fellow England international Mason Mount in the injury list. Mount, who moved from Chelsea to Manchester United this summer, picked up an injury last weekend in the Spurs game and is set to miss the next two matches. Meaning, both Shaw and Mount are set to miss Manchester United's trip to Arsenal, who finished as runners up in the English top flight last season.

The match between Arsenal and Manchester United is on Sept. 3, just before the international break. However, it is unlikely that Shaw and Mount will play in England's Euro 2024 qualifiers against Ukraine and Scotland next month.

Mount's injury may extend Scott McTominay's stay at Manchester United. Throughout this summer, the Scotland international had been linked away from the Old Trafford side amid interest from the likes of West Ham and Everton. However, with Mount's injury, Ten Hag may ask McTominay to stay.

Ten Hag's injury headache

Shaw's injury is the latest headache for Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag, who is already without his backup left-back Tyrell Malacia. The Dutch defender is still recovering from an injury he sustained last season. They are also without their third backup left-back Brandon Williams, as he joined EFL Championship side Ipswich Town on a season-long loan on Thursday.

Portuguese right-back Diogo Dalot, who has previously played on the left of Manchester United's defence, could be an option to provide cover for 28-year-old Shaw.

Following the defeat at Spurs, Manchester United would look to return to winning ways when they host Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes appears to be feeling the heat, as seen during an outburst after the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Fernandes has received a lot of criticism after he publicly asked the officials for an apology. The Portuguese midfielder was unhappy his side was not awarded a penalty after Alejandro Garnacho's effort inside the box was struck with the arm of Spurs defender Cristian Romero.

While the incident was reviewed by VAR, the on-field referee Michael Oliver signalled for the play to continue, leaving the away side frustrated, especially their captain. After the game, which Manchester United lost 2-0, Fernandes did not hesitate to express his anger about not getting a penalty.

"I want to see if Jon Moss also comes to apologise to our dressing room like they said he did to the manager of Wolves," said Fernandes, referring to Moss' apology for a non-call on Andre Onana last week.