Manchester United relief as Marcos Rojo injury won't rule him out for rest of January

   

   Manchester United are confident that Marcos Rojo did not suffer a muscle tear in Saturday's FA Cup defeat of Reading. The Argentina international is expected to be available for selection for the majority of the remainder of the club's demanding January schedule.

   Rojo was substituted 19 minutes into the 4-0 third-round victory, amidst concern of a serious injury. United's technical staff, however, believe the problem was caused by Rojo “compensating” for a knock the defender had suffered in training. Medical assessments showed there was no muscular damage.

   Asked about the extent of Rojo's injury in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's cup tie, Jose Mourinho said: “I have lots of question marks always and I don’t like to say. People like to say first degree X days out, second degree X days out. Let’s wait to see.”

Starting with Tuesday's first-leg League Cup semi-final against Hull City, United face five matches in a 23-day period as the only English Premier League club still involved in four competitions. Mourinho's defensive resources have already been limited by the departure of first-choice centre back Eric Bailly on African Cup of Nations duty.

Rojo had established himself in Mourinho's starting line up with a series of strong displays alongside Phil Jones during a 14-match unbeaten run – the club's longest since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement as manager.

   United entered the weekend with a full squad to select from, despite winning every match of an intense festive-season schedule. Mourinho prides himself on training and deploying his players according to a methodology that minimises non-contact injuries.

[DAILYRECORD]