The injury suffered by Luke Shaw in the UEFA Champions League against PSV Eindhoven earlier this year continues to hurt Manchester United's depth on the left side of the defence.
With the England international sidelined for an extended period of time following his broken leg injury in September, manager Louis van Gaal has always expressed his concern for a lack of a proper replacement considering the likes of Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Ashley Young aren't used to play in that role. The aforementioned players have been quite decent - most notably Rojo - but the lack of a true left-back could spell doom for United if the problem isn't fixed soon.
Van Gaal admits replacement left-back may be needed
Following last week's win against Watford, the Dutch gaffer revealed that the plan during this January transfer window will be, among other things, to sign a player who can cover adequately for Shaw, as expressed in his post-match news conference at Vicarage Road:
“Luke’s rehabilitation is going well, but the process can be very slow. I don’t know if he will play again this season. The doctors won’t take any risks with him, which is good.", van Gaal told the media.
“I was convinced Luke would have a very good season and because of that I didn’t buy a second player for left-back. Maybe we have to buy a left-back in January”, he continued.
Van Gaal also raved about Shaw's mental strength and he said he doesn't have any doubts he will come back even stronger when he's fully fit.
Shaw could be out for another few months with broken leg
Shaw's broken leg certainly complicates United's defensive scheme as he was expected to be the team's first choice and as a result, The Red Devils have been linked with several players who could potentially take the 20-year-old's place in the starting XI. Any solution would likely be a short-term fix though since Shaw is rated highly and he has the potential to be one of the best left-backs in all of Europe in the near future.