Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says he is ‘never’ able to select his strongest XI because of squad inconsistencies and injuries.

The Dutchman explained he was concerned by his squad’s injury record, with up to 12 first-team players currently sidelined.

Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Sofyan Amrabat, and Mason Mount are among those on the injured list, with Ten Hag also confirming Harry Maguire will miss this week’s Champions League commitments with a ‘complaint’. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has also been missing since the weekend.

Jadon Sancho and Antony remain unavailable due to respective off-field issues.

Of United’s 21-man travelling squad, four are goalkeepers, while Ten Hag has only been able to name five defenders.

Injury crisis

“One thing is true, from the start of last season, I don’t think I ever started with, in my opinion, the best starting XI,” Ten Hag said. “There were always injuries.

“We always got results, apart from the period we are in now. I have experienced it in the past and managed it. You have to deal with it. I like these situations because you have to handle it and know what to do, and that is focusing on the process.”

The United boss is already under scrutiny, and things could get a lot more uncomfortable if his side suffers defeat against the six-time European champions in one of the standout fixtures of the opening week.

United have lost three of their opening five Premier League games, including last weekend’s 3-1 home reverse against Brighton.

“The doctors are dealing with the problems,” he added. “First of all, injuries always come in top football because we are living on the edge.

“Of course, we analyse why things happen, but we also have to deal with the effects. We have to get the best out of it. We need to make the next step, integrating Rasmus Hojlund and Sergio Reguilon.”

Negativity

Ten Hag’s belief about their path is why he is not getting thrown off kilter by the negativity heading into United’s first Champions League match in 18 months.

“No, we don’t feel that we need a reset,” the former Bayern Munich reserve boss said. “Absolutely not. We are in a process, and what you see is that in parts of games, we play very good but then also in parts of games we played below our levels.”