ERIK TEN HAG has revealed that he does not expect Luke Shaw back until after the next international break – which means he will miss the Manchester derby.
Manchester United’s left-back suffered a muscle injury in the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on August 19.
SEE THE FULL LIST OF FIXTURES SHAW WILL MISS BELOW…
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He has missed nine club games and four England matches since while he undergoes his rehab.
However, any hopes supporters had of the 28-year-old returning soon have been squashed by Ten Hag ahead of a crunch month of action.
United have seven matches to play before England’s next game on November 17 against Malta.
And it seems that Shaw will not be ready neither club or country as Ten Hag’s defensive injury crisis continues.
Fellow full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was injured against Brighton on September 18, has also been ruled out for the past month.
And when quizzed on an update on the pair’s condition, Ten Hag said: “Of course they are closer. (But) for Luke Shaw, I don’t expect him back in this block of games.
“Aaron Wan-Bissaka, I don’t think he’s too far away from returning to team training and so back in the team.”
United face Sheffield United tonight before next Sunday’s Manchester derby at home to City.
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They also play Fulham and Luton in the Premier League before the international break.
And they take on Newcastle in the Carabao Cup as well as having two crunch Champions League clashes with FC Copenhagen.
However, Ten Hag also has a fresh injury worry after influential midfielder Casemiro was hurt while on international duty with Brazil this week.
The Dutchman, who already knows Casemiro is suspended for Tuesday’s game with Copenhagen, said: “In the first game he came off but then he played the second game, it was an important one.”
“I’m sure that game didn’t help him, but it’s a small injury, he’ll return (from Brazil) next week, it will be healed and then he’s ready for our next (league) game (against Manchester City), I’m sure.”
However, Ten Hag is adamant that he will not use injuries as an excuse as he looks to finally get United’s season up-and-running.
MAN UTD’S NEXT SEVEN FIXTURES
These are the games that Luke Shaw looks set to miss over the next month:
Sat 21 Oct – Sheffield United vs Man Utd – Premier League
Tues 24 Oct – Man Utd vs FC Copenhagen – Champions League
Sun 29 Oct – Man Utd vs Man City – Premier League
Wed 1 Nov – Man Utd vs Newcastle – Carabao Cup
Sat 4 Nov – Fulham vs Man Utd – Premier League
Wed 8 Nov – FC Copenhan vs Man Utd – Champions League
Sat 11 Nov – Man Utd vs Luton – Premier League
He added: “If you can’t use, every time, the same players, you can’t bring in the routines.
“Some routines slipped away in the last weeks and, yeah, that had a bad effect on the results.
“As you said, I never use it as an excuse. We still have a good squad, we still have to win, we still have our principles, rules and way of playing.
“The players should know what to do, of course, but in co-operation, sometimes with different combinations that have not played so often together, sometimes you get hesitation. Such details, the opposition take benefit from it.
“As I said, and you said, you can never use that as an excuse.”
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