Ten Hag fumes at Man Utd's medical team over injuries to Luke Shaw and Malacia

Erik ten Hag has expressed his frustration with Manchester United’s medical team after injury problems surrounding Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia threatened to leave him without a recognised left-back for the rest of the season.

Shaw was out of action for three months at the start of the campaign with a thigh injury and may now miss the remaining fixtures after aggravating a hamstring strain. Malacia hasn’t played for United for almost 10 months following knee surgery and a setback in his recovery.

Ten Hag says he was assured by the medical team that both players would be fit in January, which is why he cut short Sergio Reguilon’s loan from Tottenham.

The United boss has had to improvise by playing Victor Lindelof and Sofyan Amrabat out of position, and back-to-back Premier League defeats have jeopardised United’s hopes of Champions League qualification.

‘In December, I had the talks internally, with the medical and performance [staff],’ said Ten Hag. ‘They assured me they will both be fit in January and so you will have two left full-backs. Then you have a third one (Reguilon), so I would always have to disappoint one full-back.

‘We talk about one of my biggest frustrations, there. You can accept in a position that a player is not available, but when two players are not available over the course of the season, that is very frustrating, because that is also very difficult to catch up as a team. We dealt with it in the best way, but of course it is a disadvantage.

‘In our left full back position, we've had two injuries almost over the whole course of the season. I think Liverpool is a good example. Last year they had at the same and they couldn't deal with it as well.’

Asked about Malacia’s comeback, Ten Hag said: ‘I think it's