Manchester United defender Phil Jones missed Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea through a shin splint, manager Louis van Gaal has said.
Jones, 22, made his comeback after being sidelined for four of his club’s games with a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw with West Ham on Monday.
He subsequently picked up the injury and was forced to miss the draw at Old Trafford, prompting the Dutch boss to give an update on his condition and said the time frame of his absence has not yet been ascertained.
“The match against West Brom was his first after a long injury period,” Van Gaal said. “We brought him back and he trained for more than a week with the first team, then had to play 90 minutes.
“Then he had a sore feeling in his shin. On Saturday he could not continue training, even though it was a very light session before the match. He had shin splints, which is very painful. I don’t know how long it will take (for him to recover).”
There was more positive news for Radamel Falcao who also missed Sunday’s draw. The Colombian striker picked up a knock in training but is not expected to be out for a long time.
“Falcao took a kick in training on Thursday and couldn’t play because of that,” Van Gaal added. “We’ll have to wait and see, but I don’t think the injury is too bad, today’s match came too soon for him.”
Meanwhile, Robin van Persie drew the ‘Red Devils’ level with second left to the dead after Didier Drogba’s second-half header on Sunday.
