Manchester United's Darmian taken to hospital after spitting up blood

Manchester United will be anxious to learn the extent of Matteo Darmian's injury after the defender was seen spitting up blood on the sidelines.

Darmian sustained the injury during United's 1-0 loss to Southampton when he collided with Shane Long. He was removed from the match shortly after and was taken to local hospital to receive treatment.

While the exact nature of his injury has not been determined, manager Louis van Gaal speculated that the young full-back suffered an injury to his ribs and chest area.

"He was spitting blood on the pitch so he has already gone to the hospital and we have to wait and see what happens," Van Gaal told reporters. "That is the fifth full-back who has been injured.

"Probably there is something wrong in one rib and also the chest but we have to wait and see. It was not a nice view for the players to see that. Darmian is bad because he is now in hospital."

Van Gaal added that Darmian's loss played a role in the team's demise against the Saints, saying the atmosphere around Old Trafford changed and that United players appeared to be demoralized when the Italian was forced to leave.

"At halftime I changed (Marouane) Fellaini and then I saw the first 15 minutes were better and the fans were behind the team and cheering," he said. "But then it was gone after the injury to Darmian. It's a pity that we don't continue with our momentum. But we have to stick together in this period because we have a lot of injuries."

Darmian joins a long list of defenders out through injury, including Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, and Antonio Valencia.