Manchester United midfielder hamstring injury leaves Louis van Gaal with bare bones squad

Lingard went off after 31 minutes against Bournemouth

MANCHESTER UNITED have lost yet another first-team player as Jesse Lingard has picked up a hamstring injury at the Vitality Stadium.

 

The 22-year-old had to be replaced by Andreas Pereira after just half an hour, when United had only just equalised through Marouane Fellaini after Junior Stanislas had earlier scored directly from a corner.

Louis van Gaal had already named nine players out of the clash with Bournemouth, although midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin returned to the bench to give the manager some boost.

However, with the Red Devils' season threatening to derail after crashing out of the Champions League, an ever-growing injury list will not be what Van Gaal wanted as he comes into the busy festive period.

 

The Dutch manager was forced to hand a first ever Premier League start to Cameron Borthwick-Jackson after Matteo Darmian failed to recover from a hamstring problem that forced him off before half-time in midweek.

And with Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, and Antonio Valencia all out with long-term injuries, full-back is proving to be a problematic position for the Red Devils, while Bastian Schweinsteiger's three-match ban leaves central midfield similarly exposed, although Ander Herrera hopes to be in contention for next week's clash with Norwich.

United will now await a scan on Lingard's hamstring, but they will hope to have him fit at the latest for December 28, when Jose Mourinho's Chelsea visit Old Trafford.