Louis van Gaal eyes January signings as Wayne Rooney joins Manchester United injury list

Wayne Rooney's injury could force Louis van Gaal into the transfer market

The United skipper, who was due to make his 500th appearance for the club against the Hammers (3pm), has been sidelined by an ankle injury he picked up in the draw at Leicester last Saturday.

And it is a major blow for goal-shy United’s Champions League hopes to lose Rooney ahead of the final group game in Germany where they are likely to need a win to reach the knock-out stages.

Red Devils boss Louis Van Gaal said: “He shall not play his 500th game because he is more injured than I thought.

"So we have to wait for that game. His ankle is not good enough and he has to recover that ankle with a lot of strength. So he has to do a lot of exercises to make his ankle stronger and he needs more time."

Marcos Rojo is also facing several weeks out after dislocating a shoulder in training to increase a worrying injury list for Van Gaal who is already without Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, and Ander Herrera.

Rojo has dislocated the same shoulder he damaged in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium a year ago and Van Gaal says United are waiting on scans to see if the Argentina defender needs surgery.

Van Gaal added: "He trained with us on Wednesday and fell down. It was a bad fall. He dislocated his shoulder, it was more or less the same point as (he did) last season so he is out for more weeks.

"The question on whether he shall be operated on is a question for the doctors and Marcos himself. We have to see that later because we have to wait for the scan at a proper time."

Van Gaal says the injury list means he is looking to strengthen in the January transfer window but admits it will be difficult to get the players he wants.

He said: "So we are looking but, as you know, it is not easy. And to bring players in in January is even more difficult so we are looking but it is not for sure. We have a lot of contact injuries and long-lasting injuries, that’s our problem."

Meanwhile, Van Gaal is intrigued to see how United legend Gary Neville performs after his surprise appointment as Valencia manager this week.

Van Gaal, who had two spells in Spain as Barcelona boss, said: "Valencia is a big club with a lot of history, a lot of titles also. So it's a big step for him, a big challenge also.

"I'm very happy for him but curious also how he shall do. I don't think it's easy to do that in a foreign country when you don't speak the language.

"Okay, he has his brother who speaks Spanish but it is still a big challenge for him and I wish him a lot of luck - he needs a lot of luck."