Jose Mourinho has asked Luke Shaw to be patient as he attempts to reclaim a starting place at Manchester United.
The England left-back has fallen out of favour with the Portuguese boss, who questioned his mental toughness after he withdrew himself from selection for a 3-1 victory at Swansea City in November.
Prior to that, Shaw had started United's previous Premier League game against Burnley, as well as the first five games of the campaign, but he has not played a minute in the league since.
"He has to work and wait," Mourinho told Sky Sports News. "Against Watford I wanted one defender on the bench and the defender is someone who can play in more than one position.
"Matteo Darmian can play left-back, right-back and an emergency central defender for us so my choice was Darmian.
"The only thing I can say is that Luke is working well. He doesn't have any problem and he is working well. He is fighting hard. There is no problem with him. He is fighting hard."
Shaw joined Man United from Southampton as an 18-year-old for £30m in June 2014 but, after a bright start, suffered a career-threatening leg break at PSV Eindhoven in September 2015.
Giuseppe Labellarte
