Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal commented on the status of a few players ahead of Wednesday’s match.
Manchester United will face Crystal Palace on Wednesday with what should be a nearly fully healthy squad, as Ander Herrera is set to return to the team.
After suffering a knock against West Ham in last week’s FA Cup Quarterfinal Replay, the Spaniard was forced to miss the weekend meeting with Aston Villa. Herrera’s injury never looked serious when it happened, rather that the midfielder was taken off to avoid receiving a second yellow card. But his subsequent absence for the next match made it clear he had suffered an injury, though still more minor than he made it out to be.
Fortunately, he will be back in the team when they face Palace, and his quick thinking and incisive passing should be enough to see him in the starting ranks. Herrera is one of the better box to box midfielders for Louis van Gaal, ahead of the likes of Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini.
The manager also made a brief comment on the progress of Luke Shaw with some positive encouragement.
Boss on Shaw: "He's doing great. He's training with the physio but he has to train with the football coach, and that hasn't happened yet."
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 19, 2016
Even if the young left-back can make a full return to fitness before the end of the season, he will surely need an extended period to get back to match sharpness. He’s been out for the large majority of the season, having not played since September. Despite being early in his 20s, Shaw would probably need a few weeks of training with the first team followed by some action with the reserves before a senior team return would be on the cards.
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Otherwise, disregarding Bastian Schweinsteiger’s season ending injury, the squad is completely healthy. Wayne Rooney could be available for the full 90 minutes after playing a good portion of the Villa match, while Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young have shown they’re back at peak performance. Van Gaal did add, however, that he has no intention of resting Marcus Rashford against Palace.
The 18-year-old has started every game for Manchester United dating back to the beginning of March, but the manager believes he is capable of coping with the playing time. Asked if he would give the young striker reprieve against the Eagles, Van Gaal responded:
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"“I have changed him after 70 minutes, I believe, and that is also to give him a little bit of rest. He didn’t train the day after and also the day after that he didn’t train. I want to keep him fresh because he is in the momentum of scoring and that is very important for him but also for the team.”"
To be fair, Rashford has looked sharp during his lengthy involvement with no signs of fatigue. His clinical finishing and movement off the ball have been massively important to the Manchester United attack, to the point that he might be considered undroppable.
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Both the English youth international and Herrera should be in the team against Palace, and both could play important roles for the remainder of the season. Manchester United desperately need to win all of their five remaining Premier League games to have a chance at Champions League qualification. It will take decent attacking football to overcome the upcoming opponents, which Herrera and Rashford can both provide.