Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has admitted that he has serious selection problems ahead of the busy Christmas schedule.
Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian are both ruled out of this weekend's game against Bournemouth after suffering injuries during the mid-week Champions League exit at Wolfsburg.
They joined the likes of Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo on the sidelines with Bastian Schweinsteiger suspended after being charged with violent conduct.
"It is not so good," van Gaal told MUTV.
"We have eight injured players because Darmian and also Smalling we can add to this list, and Schweinsteiger is also suspended, so it's nine players who are not able to play.
"Schneiderlin is coming back, that's not a problem, but we have a list of eight players injured and Rojo has been operated on this week and it takes a long time. These injuries are very heavy – Shaw and Valencia have also been operated on and that's our problem.
"It is not beneficial for us because we have a heavy programme but I believe that Smalling, Herrera and Darmian are coming back before Christmas."
