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Blind injury will be a long story, says Van Gaal

Daley Blind limped out of Netherlands' Euro 2016 qualifier with Latvia © Getty Images

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Manchester United are confident that Daley Blind's knee injury is not as serious as first feared, manager Louis van Gaal has stated, although confusion arose during the Dutchman's Friday press conference.

Blind was taken off with suspected knee ligament damage during Netherlands' Euro 2016 qualifier against Latvia on Sunday. He will undergo another scan in the coming days but United put out a tweet saying Blind 'could be out for six months' - evidently misquoting their manager.

However, Van Gaal had said: "Blind is not ready to play. He has now a brace on his knee, 10 days' rest, then we have to make another scan and we can say more about his injury.

"It's not so bad as the doctors are thinking after the match, but it shall be a long story, I believe, but not six months or something."

There was also good news with the Dutchman confirming that David De Gea and Angel Di Maria are both fit for Saturday's Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

De Gea fractured a finger while on international duty with Spain, while Di Maria was caught on the foot by on-loan United winger Nani during Argentina's friendly with Portugal at Old Trafford earlier this week.

Van Gaal added: "Di Maria has trained today normally so I don't think that is a question mark, but [Luke] Shaw is. De Gea is good, no problem.

Van Gaal also stated he expects Michael Carrick, who pulled out of England's squad for last weekend's Euro 2016 qualifier with Slovenia and Tuesday's friendly with Scotland, to be fit for the trip to North London, although Luke Shaw remains doubtful.

"We have to wait for tomorrow's training session to decide if [some players] are back," Van Gaal said. "My philosophy is that you have to train at least one week with the squad, better two. If you see our circumstances, we maybe have to bring players back to the squad.

"I think I have to wait for the reaction in training with Carrick, but I also expect he's ready to play."

Van Gaal said of facing Arsenal: "It's the first time I've sat on the bench against Arsenal as Manchester United coach. I've only played once against Arsenal with Barcelona.

"Wenger was on the bench and was already eight years [into the job] with Arsenal. I admire the way they play because it's attacking and you play for the fans. I think that's nice. About the rivalry, it's normal in sport."

Wow, all of a sudden a lot of messages! Still working hard guys, but don't worry; I'll be back stronger! pic.twitter.com/4OCJm8YeAc

— Daley Blind (@BlindDaley) November 20, 2014

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