Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says it will be 'survival of the fittest' under him

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes his fast and direct football is responsible for Manchester United’s recent spate of injuries, though he will make no apologies for his style of play.

Solskjaer is likely to be without as many as 10 players for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace and has had to draft academy talents Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong and James Garner into his first-team squad.

Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard all suffered hamstring injuries in Sunday’s goalless draw with Liverpool, while Marcus Rashford is not likely to be risked after picking up an ankle problem that day too.

Anthony Martial will also be kept back as he continues to recover from a groin problem, while Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian are all missing in defence.

United lost holding midfielder Nemanja Matic to injury in training last week and Mason Greenwood, a young striker who could provide cover, is also unavailable.

The raft of injuries has been attributed in some quarters to United’s new expansive style. Under Solskjaer’s predecessor Jose Mourinho earlier this season, United averaged 98 sprints per Premier League game.

That figure has jumped to 108.6 per game since Solskjaer’s appointment as caretaker manager in December and the Norwegian admits this change of approach could be causing injuries.

Even so, Solskjaer declared life at United “survival of the fittest” on Tuesday, as he feels the club has a duty to live up to its traditions and play on the front foot.

When asked whether he saw a connection between United’s new style and injury concerns, he said: “It’s probably linked, yes, because when do you make that change?

“Do you wait until pre-season and think you will change results by not asking them to run? Or do we start now and show them what the demands are and the intensity of how we want to play?

“You’ve seen what I chose. We need to play as a Man United team and if you want to be a part of Man United, it’s a survival of the fittest.

“We’ve not had time really to work on the fitness,” Solskjaer added. “We had a week in Dubai, we’ve not really had many weeks of training, lots of game time, but Dubai as you might have noticed it was more of a tactical one than a physical one.”

Solskjaer believes his players have a responsibility to prepare and live well outside of training, especially in the case of the squad’s most senior members.

But the United caretaker has no complaints with how, since his appointment, his players have conducted themselves away from the club.

“They are getting older aren’t they? Juan, Nemanja, Ander,” he said. “So it’s about the preparation, the standards that you have to live up to on and off the pitch as a Man United player, and as a professional player in the Premier League.

“It’s not just turning up playing and training and then going home and doing all these little out of football activities that we have all seen too many footballers doing. I’m pleased with the way my lads have responded in that way.”