Jose Mourinho admitted that his Manchester United side are now "in trouble" due to their growing injury list which now features Zlatan Ibrahimović after the striker suffered a serious knee injury against RSC Anderlecht.
United managed to come through a difficult quarter-final tie in the UEFA Europa League against Anderlecht on Thursday evening but both Ibrahimović and Marcos Rojo suffered injuries which are likely to keep the pair out for a considerable period of time.
Injuries really mounting up for United
The injuries to the pair add to the other players injured such as Juan Mata, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones and with United facing a battle to win the Europa League and gain a top-four finish in the Premier League, Mourinho feels his side are in real danger of doing neither.
Speaking after the Anderlecht game, Mourinho said "we are in trouble" with the fact that key players will not be able to help the team for the remaining games this season plus "in this moment, Eric Bailly played six matches in a row" which means the Ivorian requires a rest but cannot be dropped due to the lack of other options.
The United boss though was more optimistic about his options in the forward areas saying "but in attack, we have options" to play with "[Wayne] Rooney coming back" after injury plus there is a chance that "Mata can also return before the end of the season" which will give the team even more depth to cope.
Mourinho gives backing to Rooney
Wayne Rooney finally returned to the United bench for the game against Anderlecht following an ankle injury, and Mourinho feels his captain can have a big influence on the team in the remaining weeks of the campaign.
Mourinho said that Rooney has a "good mentality" and "he is a fighter" and he will try to give his all for the team "even if he is not in the best condition" as he is a player that has "the experience and character" to help the team out when they are really struggling with injuries.
The United boss also confirmed that Ander Herrera, who didn't play any part against Anderlecht, will return to the starting line-up for the Super Sunday trip to Burnley as he is fresh which is what the team really needs.