MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER Louis van Gaal is unsure over the diagnosis and extent of Angel Di Maria’s latest injury, which ruled him out of Friday’s 3-1 win against Newcastle.
Di Maria picked up a hamstring injury at the end of November and only returned to the first team on last week when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
But he picked up another problem in training on Christmas Eve, although Van Gaal is not sure exactly what the problem is or how long the Argentine will be out of action.
“He was injured in the last training session, he stepped out of the warm-up,” he told reporters. “It was a little bit amazing because he did everything very well. He stepped out and now we have to wait and see the analysis.”
Asked if it was a recurrence of his hamstring injury, Van Gaal said: “I don’t think so, I am not a doctor. Before we have a misunderstanding, we have to wait.”
And when was asked if it was a muscle problem, he replied: “No, it’s not the muscle injury. It’s more that the pelvis is not in a right relationship with his leg.
“It’s more for the doctor to explain than me.”
The Dutchman is also unhappy at having to face Tottenham on Sunday, less than 48 hours after facing Newcastle on Boxing Day.
“I cannot prepare my team like I have to prepare,” he added. “We have unit meetings, we have team meetings, we have training session, always 11 against 11 and we simulate the opponent but we cannot do that now.
“We have to play within 48 hours. For Uefa and Fifa, it is forbidden to play within 48 hours. But OK, it’s England, so, different.
“All the players have to go to the AON Training Complex to recover and to eat properly. Then your body can recover better. Tomorrow morning they have again free so they can recover more. Recovery is much more important than a training session now.”
