Manchester United right-back Donald Love added to manager Louis van Gaal's injury headaches as the player limped out of their under-21s match away to Middlesbrough on Monday night.
Love went off just before the 30-minute mark with a suspected hamstring injury, while the score was 0-0. It was a game that United went on to win 2-1, strengthening their title hopes, in front of the MUTV cameras.
Although Guillermo Varela has recovered fitness and has played impressively at right-back recently for United's first team, an absence for Love would further weaken Van Gaal's already slim options.
The 21-year-old Love has played twice for the first team recently, coming on as a substitute at Sunderland then playing 90 minutes at FC Midtjylland. He had been brought into the first team because of first-choice right-back Matteo Darmian's withdrawal at Sunderland due to a shoulder injury.
Seven of the players who started for United's U21s on Monday night have played for the first team this season, highlighting just how depleted the club's squad has been -- and how much they have relied on youth.
Van Gaal is already suffering from the absence of at least 13 players.
There was better news for Adnan Januzaj who started and managed to play an hour. He will be hoping to feature in Wednesday's Premier League home game against Watford.
