Manchester United team news: Wayne Rooney left out of squad to face FC Midtjylland with Matteo Darmian injured

Rooney's absence is set to be explained by manager Louis van Gaal later today ahead of Thursday's Europa League encounter

Wayne Rooney will miss Manchester United's Europa League clash with FC Midtjylland (2016 Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney will not be available for Manchester United’s Europa League last-32 first leg with FC Midtjylland after being left in Manchester, with the rest of the squad flying out to Denmark ahead of Thursday’s encounter.

Having been knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage in December, Louis van Gaal must now prepare his side for an assault on the Europa League in what could prove to be back-route into next season’s Champions League. With United sitting in fifth in the Premier League table, six points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City, Van Gaal has already admitted that qualifying for the competition will be “very difficult”.

A place in the Champions League is reserved for the winners of the Europa League though, and with United facing Midtjylland in the last-32, Van Gaal would be forgiven for heading to Scandinavia in a quietly confident mood.

However, he will do so without his captain after Rooney was left at home, and it has not been made clear whether the striker suffered an injury since playing the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 defeat by Sunderland last Saturday or if he is simply being rested ahead of next Monday’s FA Cup fifth round trip to Shrewsbury.

Van Gaal is expected to confirm the reasoning behind Rooney’s absence at his pre-match press conference later today, but it is already known that defender Matteo Darmian will miss the European fixture due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the loss to the Black Cats.

United face Midtjylland in the last-32 second leg three days after their FA Cup encounter next week, before the visit of Premier League title challengers Arsenal to Old Trafford in what could prove to be a decisive fixture for the future of Van Gaal.