Manchester United star Antonio Valencia suffers hamstring injury in West Brom win, confirms Jose Mourinho
Old Trafford manager insists crock to his stand-in skipper is not unexpected at this period of the season
JOSE MOURINHO admits he has no idea how long Antonio Valencia will be out for after suffering a hamstring injury.
Manchester United's devastated stand-in captain came off 66 minutes into their 2-1 win at West Brom holding his leg.
Boss Mourinho insisted the Ecuador right-back, 32, has a "normal" problem due to United's packed fixture list.
He said: "It is a December injury. Everyone is at risk because of the accumulation. It is normal.
"It is an injury of accumulation of fatigue. It is a muscular one. Hamstring. Big, small, medium, I don't know."
When asked how long Valencia will likely be out for, he said: "Let's wait. I think he is an experienced guy to not let it go to difficult limits. But it is an injury of fatigue.
"Everyone in the Premier League especially the ones in more accumulation of cups, European cups, they are at risk."
Mourinho's men are desperately thin on the right side of defence, with no automatic replacements for Valencia.
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Versatile Ashley Young could fill in on the right flank, with Luke Shaw returning to the fold at left-back.
Full-back Matteo Darmian - who was not included in today's match day squad - is another option.
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United have been hit with a minor injury crisis heading into the Christmas period.
Centre-back Eric Bailly is out for three months with an ankle injury and midfielder Marouane Fellaini's knee KO is expected to keep him out until January.
But Mourinho will be delighted to have £89million midfield ace Paul Pogba back in his squad for Tuesday's Premier League trip to Leicester.
The France star was given a three-match ban for a clumsy stamp on Hector Bellerin's leg during United's 3-1 win at Arsenal this month.
Despite losing the experienced Valencia at the Hawthorns, the Red Devils picked up three points to remain second in the table, 11 points behind leaders Manchester City.
Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard sealed the victory, with Gareth Barry managing just a consolation.
Mourinho said: "I think we deserved the win. We were the best team. I knew and the players knew that West Brom is very dangerous on set-pieces.
"We controlled the game for a long, long time, then manager Alan Pardew reacts. We had a few chances to kill the game but I knew they would react.
"The intensity in the first half maybe we didn't have in the second half."