Friday, 19th December, 2014



Louis van Gaal has denied talk that defender Rafael is not fit and revealed he could have played the Brazilian against Liverpool last weekend if he had wished.

Rafael missed out on Manchester United's 3-0 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford, leading to speculation that he was still nursing an injury.




But not so says Van Gaal, who pointed out that he has selection problems due to players returning from injury.

 


"Rafael is not injured", Van Gaal was quoted as saying by his club's site.

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"He was already fit last week, but I have to select and I have to compare."

While Rafael could feature against Aston Villa on Saturday, one man who is out is Marcos Rojo, the Argentine defender battling against a thigh injury.

"When I have more players fit, I have to select. You will have to wait and see, of course. I have to compare. Rafael? I can take him in the 18.

"Rojo? No. We have five injuries and one [Marouane Fellaini] is ill, so they are not coming up. Rojo has a rectus femoris [thigh] injury."

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