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Luke Shaw will start his first season with Manchester United on the sideline after the club confirmed a hamstring injury would keep him out of action for four weeks. - Brewin: Fellaini goal his final act for United?
- Okwonga: Rooney a pragmatic captain choice Shaw joined United from Southampton in July but quickly faced criticism over his fitness levels from manager Louis Van Gaal, who ordered the 19-year-old to train on his own. "Luke needs to be fit, and he's not very fit and can't perform how I want. He needs to be fit and to train individually," Van Gaal said at the time. "I can't judge why. I see what I see." Shaw played well during United's win over Liverpool in the International Champions Cup final on Aug. 4, but he did not feature in Tuesday's final friendly against Valencia at Old Trafford, and United confirmed the extent of the injury on Wednesday. The injury could expedite a move for United to sign Sporting Lisbon's Marcos Rojo, who faces "strong disciplinary measures" from his current club for requesting a transfer. The injuries are piling up as United prepare to kick off their Premier League campaign against Swansea on Saturday. In addition to the loss of Shaw, Van Gaal is concerned he will be without central defender Jonny Evans and wing-back Antonio Valencia, who also missed Tuesday's game. "I think we have a lot of injuries now," Van Gaal said after the match. "Evans was injured, Shaw was injured, Valencia was injured and they are three defenders so we have to wait and see if they can play on Saturday." The manager also said Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj are not yet fit enough to play more than 15 minutes following the World Cup exertions with Belgium. "Fellaini and Januzaj have only [had] one week, one-and-a half weeks to train with us so they cannot make more minutes," Van Gaal said.
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