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Manchester United were forced to face Newcastle without Angel Di Maria on Boxing Day after the Argentine was injured in training.
United said on their website that their record signing was injured during a Christmas Eve training session and Louis van Gaal confirmed the news ahead of kick-off.
"Di Maria has injured himself at the last training session," Van Gaal said.
The Argentine only returned from injury at Aston Villa on December 20 after sitting on the sidelines for three weeks with a hamstring problem.
But Van Gaal has been handed a boost ahead of his trip to White Hart Lane on December 28 as Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw prepare to return to first-team action before the New Year.
Daley Blind is expected back for the second gameweek in 2015 but no return date has been set for Di Maria, who hasn't played a full 90 minutes in the league for United since victory over Arsenal in late November.
