Manchester United injury news: Robin van Persie out of FA Cup quarter-final with Arsenal, but Luke Shaw faces late fitness test

United face Arsenal with a trip to Wembley up for grabs

Robin van Persie suffered an ankle injury in the defeat to Swansea (Getty Images)

Manchester United know that tonight’s FA Cup sixth round clash with Arsenal represents their last chance to secure a trophy this season, with manager Louis van Gaal’s ability to win silverware in his first season crucial to him winning his critics over.

He’ll go into the game unable to call on the services of one of his key strikers though, with Robin van Persie ruled out until the start of April at least. The Dutch striker suffered an ankle injury in United’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea last month.

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The absence of Van Persie has given Van Gaal a big decision to make, as he must consider whether to hand another chance to out-of-form striker Radamel Falcao or instead deploy captain Wayne Rooney in a more advanced role than he has been played in this season.

Van Gaal will also be without at least one defender and possible another through injury and suspension. Luke Shaw faces a late fitness test having suffered a hamstring injury in the same game as Van Persie, with the 19-year-old suffering an injury-hit debut season with United.

They will certainly be missing centre-back Jonny Evans though, with the Northern Irishman being handed a heavy six-match ban after the FA found him guilty of spitting at Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse. The Senegalese forward was hit with a seven-match suspension for the same offence, but picked up a game extra for his previous charge for violent conduct earlier in the season.

Luke Shaw faces a late fitness test (Getty)

The ban comes at the worst possible time for United, with Evans set to miss the FA Cup clash with the Gunners as well as their remaining matches against most of their top-four rivals. Evans will have to sit out games against Tottenham, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City, and could even miss the clash with Chelsea should they suffer Cup elimination this evening.