Manchester United dealt quadruple injury blow ahead of Chelsea encounter

Manchester United are missing four key players heading into Saturday's important league clash with Chelsea.

Manager Louis Van Gaal will be forced to experiment with his squad after announcing Michael Carrick, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Phil Jones will miss the encounter with injuries.

The Dutch boss was initially hopeful that Blind and Jones would recover in time for the match, but their failure to return to full training led to their omission, and confirmed that all four injuries occurred during United's 4-2 win against Manchester City on Sunday.

"Blind played on because he always wants to, but the tackle from (Vincent) Kompany was the reason," he told reporters. "Jones injured himself in the second half. Rojo, he was complaining (of a knock) after the match, and Carrick was also off. We had a big hope that Blind and Jones could reach this game but they can't."

"Daley Blind and Michael Carrick play in the holding position in midfield, so I have to change my lineup a lot against Chelsea."

He went on to suggest a drastic change that could see Wayne Rooney shifted into a holding midfielder role.

"I don't have another option or I have to play Wayne Rooney again in that position," he said.

Rooney's move to the midfield could pave the way for Radamel Falcao up front in attack, while Van Gaal suggested Robin Van Persie continues to lack match fitness after injuring his ankle and may begin the match on the bench.