Manchester United have suffered a potential double injury setback ahead of their crucial Premier League encounter against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

What's the word?

In Friday's press conference, interim manager Michael Carrick revealed that both Luke Shaw and Fred could join long-term absentees Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane on the sidelines for their tricky test in the capital.

"We've got two or three different little issues that we're waiting to see how the boys come through. It's never ideal, you want a full squad to pick from but there are one or two we're waiting on," the 40-year-old said.

"Luke took a bang on the head and was concussed three weeks ago and he took a bang against Watford. We assessed him during the week and will make a call on how he is."

Carrick then outlined the issues surrounding Fred, revealing that the midfielder suffered an ankle problem against Villarreal last time out.

He said: "Fred twisted his ankle the other night, he managed to carry on, which was pretty incredible, to be honest, seeing the game out and playing a big part in winning the game for us. We'll have to see how that settles down.

"There are one or two others as well. But we'll be strong tomorrow travelling down."

Carrick will be gutted

Having both Fred and Shaw potentially join United's growing list of absentees, which has also included striker Edinson Cavani in recent weeks, will leave Carrick feeling gutted.

When compared to their teammates who have started a league game, Fred's average of 2.2 tackles sees him come out on top, while Shaw's tally of 1.7 crosses is better than all of his Red Devils' colleagues, as per WhoScored.

Bruno Fernandes is also the only United player to have averaged more key passes per game than the influential left-back, and the duo's underlying numbers indicate just how detrimental their enforced absences could be against the Premier League leaders this afternoon.

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