Manchester United FC: Louis van Gaal to wait and see on Wayne Rooney's knee injury

New Delhi: Manchester United have been handed a big blow as manager Louis van Gaal confirmed that his skipper Wayne Rooney has suffered a knee injury and that the club must wait and see on how long the player will be out of action.

According to several British media reports, the 30-year-old striker, could be sidelined for up to two months. That would in turn be a catastrophe for the side given the crucial final phase of the season is on its way.

Rooney suffered the knee injury in the Premier League game against Sunderland last week.

"We have 13 players injured and Wayne is one of them. It's difficult to say but he's injured in the game versus Sunderland and has a knee problem. We have to wait and see how long that takes. I cannot say," Louis van Gaal said.

On Wednesday, United had confirmed that Rooney would miss their Europa League game against FC Midtjylland on Thursday.

The manager named an inexperienced squad due to lack of availability of senior players.

The manager went on to add that the side has to cope without their skipper.

"He scores a lot of goals so he is very important for us. We know that but we have to cope with that.

Certainly in 2016, he has scored and that's why we had a good run in matches until Sunderland. But we have to cope with that. Everybody can be injured and also the captain can be injured."

United face Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup fifth Round on Sunday before taking on Arsenal at home in the Premier League next week.