Rojo injury blow deepens Van Gaal’s defensive woes

Paul Hirst 08:46 03/11/2014
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  • Down and out: Marcos Rojo.

    Marcos Rojo suffered a dislocated shoulder as Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal’s defensive options were further depleted by the loss to rivals Manchester City.

    Rojo had to be taken off early in the second half – after Chris Small­ing had been sent off – to leave United seeing out the game with Michael Carrick and Paddy McNair in central defence.

    Afterwards, Van Gaal confirmed Rojo’s injury, saying: “The shoulder is out so you never know how long that is out. You never know how long that will take. I have to wait until tomorrow (Monday), I think, but he shall not play against Crystal Palace I think.”

    With Smalling and Rojo set to be out for next week’s clash against Palace at Old Trafford, Van Gaal may be forced to field a patched up backline from the start but he insists they will manage.

    “We have still 11 players to play and also very good players so I don’t cry for that but it is sometimes dif­ficult to select the best team – but I think I can manage that,” he added.

    “And we are close, you can see it every week, but we need more points. When I see the fans they are applauding after the game so they see also the boys are willing to give everything for the shirt.”

    The former Ajax boss felt he could take positives from the game, despite the defeat, and believes they are getting closer to becoming a force to be reckoned with again.

    “I said to the boys that the will­power is unbelievable. When you can give that you can be very proud but we have zero points,” he added.

    “We were so close in spite of play­ing with 10 men. We created more chances than in the first half. We are close but not close enough.”

    Manuel Pellegrini was also dealt a defensive blow before the match kicked off as Aleksandar Kolarov picked up a problem in the warm-up and the City boss explained afterwards the Serbian left back is unlikely to return for City’s clash with Roma on Wednesday.

    'Stupid' Smalling

    Louis van Gaal branded Chris Smalling’s dismissal “stupid” as the Manchester United defender handed City three points on a plate with two moments of madness at the Etihad Stadium.

    Sergio Aguero scored his 12th goal of the season to hand City a 1-0 victory over their bitter rivals, but their task was made a lot easier thanks to Smalling’s dismissal for two silly fouls.

    The England defender earned his first booking on the half hour for blocking Joe Hart’s attempted clearance from point-blank range and less than 10 minutes later he was shown yellow again for a reck­less foul on James Milner.

    Van Gaal said: “In the derby you have to be careful. The second yel­low card was stupid.

    “As a player you have to control your aggression. I didn’t see the first yellow, but the second you know as a player you have a yellow, so you have to handle it differently.”

    Manuel Pellegrini’s ire was reserved for referee Michael Oliver who denied City what he said were three clear penalties.

    “The penalties were unbeliev­able,” he said. “There should have been a penalty and a sending off, but the important thing is to not let it disturb your mind.”

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