Midtjylland vs Manchester United team news: Wayne Rooney and Matteo Darmian out of matchday squad

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney will miss the Europa League trip to FC Midtjylland on Thursday night (18 February) after having being left out of the 18-man squad by manager Louis van Gaal. Matteo Darmian, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phil Jones and Guillermo Varela have also been ruled out, alongside long-term absentees Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo.

Rooney played the full 90 minutes during the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland at the weekend, but the club have confirmed in an official statement he will be a "notable absentee" in Denmark, mysteriously adding: "The manager is expected to confirm why his captain has not made the trip during his pre-match press conference."

The Premier League giants will face the first leg of their round-of-32 clash without any recognised senior full-backs, with Darmian and Borthwick-Jackson ruled out alongside Jones and Varela, in addition to the long-term injured Valencia, Young, Shaw and Rojo.

"Matteo Darmian is also not involved, as expected, after dislocating his shoulder during the 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light at the weekend," the club stated regarding the absence of the Italian.

Van Gaal has named a number of youngsters in his squad, including Will Keane, Regan Poole, Joe Riley, James Weir and Donald Love, who made his first-team debut against the Black Cats in replacing Darmian.

Adnan Januzaj is cup-tied after playing with Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, while Schweinsteiger remains out, having been not featured since the FA Cup victory against Sheffield United on 9 January.