Manchester United defender Luke Shaw’s return to action has hit a speed bump, talkSPORT understands.
The 29-year-old has been hit with a small setback in his recovery process and is expected to miss the Red Devils’ FA Cup fixture against Leicester City on Friday.
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However, United anticipate Shaw will be back in training next week.
The 29-year-old has missed the Red Devils’ last 16 games, with his last appearance coming in a 34-minute cameo against Everton on December 1.
All up, Shaw has played a total of just 98 minutes across three games this season for United, with each appearance coming off the bench.
Coincidentally, they were the first three games of Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim‘s tenure.
But when Shaw was absent from United’s trip to north London for a midweek Premier League clash against Arsenal in December, it sparked fears he had been injured again.
Shaw confirmed the unfortunate news in an emotional Instagram post, with the injury believed to be muscular.
It was also understood to be a different issue to the calf strain he sustained during pre-season training and kept him sidelined until his first appearance of the season against Ipswich Town on November 24.
News of Shaw’s setback comes after star centre-back Lisandro Martinez was stretchered off in the 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Argentine was in tears as he exited the field and is set to be out for the remainder of the season with a suspected torn ACL, talkSPORT understands.
It marks the second time Martinez has sustained a major knee injury whilst at United, having been sidelined for eight weeks in February 2024. This was the other knee to Martinez’s recent injury.
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Martinez sustained the injury when he came off second-best while challenging for the ball with Palace forward Ismaila Sarr.
He immediately signalled to the United bench he was in serious discomfort and needed to be taken off.
With Shaw’s setback, Martinez’s injury and Tyrell Malacia allowed to join PSV Eindhoven on loan for the rest of the season, Amorim is light on left-sided defensive options.
However, he does have Patrick Dorgu, who United signed for £29million from Serie A side Lecce in the January window.
The highly-rated Dane was wanted by Italian giants Napoli and Juventus last summer, but United snapped him up and helped Lecce make their most expensive sale in club history.
A left-back who later developed into a left wing-back, Dorgu will be expected to hit the ground running as United technical director Jason Wilcox sung the 20-year-old’s praises.
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“Patrick is a really exciting talent; his strong defensive and attacking attributes, adaptability and work rate will make him a key part of Ruben Amorim’s squad,” Wilcox said.
“Patrick has had a superb start to his career, and at the age of just 20, we know he will continue to develop under the guidance of our excellent coaching team.”
Having been paraded in front of the Old Trafford faithful on Sunday ahead of the defeat against Palace, Dorgu could make his United debut on Friday against Leicester in the FA Cup, live on talkSPORT.
