Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Louis van Gaal: 'We have to wait' over Robin van Persie injury

Louis van Gaal remained tight-lipped on the question if Robin van Persie will be fit to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

Van Persie came off in Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Southampton with an ankle injury and missed Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, when he was nominated for Goal of the Year for his header in Netherlands' 5-1 win over Spain.

And Van Gaal refused to be drawn on reports that the 31-year-old will sit out the trip to Loftus Road.

"We have to wait and see," he said in a news conference. "I have read in the papers in the Netherlands that he is injured so we shall see."

Van Persie has not missed a league game since he sat out the 2-1 defeat to Swansea on the opening weekend as Van Gaal had granted the striker time off after the World Cup.

United are still without wing-back Ashley Young, who is out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury.

Marcos Rojo, who has recovered from a thigh injury, is back in training but has not featured since the 2-1 win at Southampton on Dec. 8 and they are waiting to see if he will figure against QPR.

United, who had been unbeaten in 11 games, dropped to fourth place when they lost to Southampton on Sunday.

But manager Van Gaal remains confident his side are still on course for a top-four finish, adding: "That is our goal and that I have always said, even in the beginning.

"We want to be champion, but then you have to win matches against Southampton and Aston Villa away or something like that. When you are not doing that you cannot be champion. So our goal was from the beginning that we start a process that our goal is within the first four because we want to play in the Champions League and that is still our goal.

"At this moment we have played 20 matches or 21 and we are in the area of the four. We have to fight for it because a lot of other teams are willing the same goal.

"There are more clubs who are fighting, they have the quality of the players so it shall be a battle. Of course I think we can do it, but that's football, we lost against Southampton and we were the better team. That's football."

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