Luke Shaw has been dealt another blow in his quest to make it back into Manchester United's first XI.

The 21-year-old has been heavily left out of Jose Mourinho's plans since November and has only made two appearances in 2017.

After being left out of the squad that beat Watford 2-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday, many thought Shaw would be handed a chance against St. Etienne.

But the United boss confirmed in his press conference on Wednesday that there would be no place for the Englishman.

Mourinho to the press at the Aon Training Complex (
Image:
Man Utd via Getty Images)

"He's not playing tomorrow because my team is playing well," said Mourinho. "I am happy with my back four, and I’m going to repeat Valencia, Bailly, Smalling and Daley Blind."

It's another set back for Shaw, but he may be able to take hope from recent successors of the same treatment. Both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial were given the cold shoulder before going on to excel in the first team.

Luke Shaw puts on a brace face in training (
Image:
REUTERS)

The Red Devils manager recently said: "The only thing I can say is that Luke is working well. I don't have any problem and he's working well. He's fighting hard, there is no problem with him," he said.

"He has to work and wait. But I want one defender on the bench and the defender on the bench is somebody who can play more than one position."

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