Manchester United have had several longstanding critical concerns this season and injuries have been one of them, with Erik ten Hag largely forced to come up with a new starting eleven for every game.
Absentees in defence has, in particular, been a major problem for the manager, with long-term injuries disrupting the progress made last year.
Lisandro Martinez has been missing for almost all of the campaign, with Luke Shaw also on the sidelines for a sizeable chunk.
Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jonny Evans have all missed prolonged periods with injury as well,
Ten Hag went into the first game of the season with Tyrell Malacia and Shaw as the two options at left-back, with Diogo Dalot also capable of playing there.
Malacia has, however, not featured for the Reds since last year’s FA Cup final. Eventually, Sergio Reguilon was brought in on loan from Tottenham Hotspur to provide extra cover.
Reguilon also struggled with injuries but even at full fitness, it was obvious that the former Atletico Madrid star was merely a backup.
Upon Luke Shaw’s return to action around New Year’s, the decision was made to send Reguilon back to Tottenham, where he was still deemed surplus to requirements.
That culminated in a move to Brentford and now, he has shown the Old Trafford hierarchy why he should have been kept until the end of the season.
Reguilon started his side’s game at Aston Villa earlier on Saturday and registered two assists to help his side turn a two-goal deficit around.
Since he was sent back to Tottenham, United have played Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot, Sofyan Amrabat and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at left-back.
