Erik ten Hag might have discovered his most important player at Manchester United

When it rains, it pours. And for Manchester United, the rain is currently showing no sign of stopping.

Wednesday night's 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in their UEFA Champions League group stage opener marked a third defeat on the spin and a fourth reverse in their opening six matches this season. United last lost four of their opening six games at the start of a campaign back in 1986.

Back-to-back defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Bayern has meant that a sluggish start has turned into a disastrous one. United are already facing a must-win scenario when they make the short trip to Turf Moor to face Burnley on Saturday evening.

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Though captain Bruno Fernandes refused to use it as an excuse in his post-match interview with one of the rights holders in Munich, United's injury crisis is impacting them, just as it would any other club. The Reds are currently starved of some of their most important and senior players, not least in defence, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia all missed the trip to Germany through injury.

Manager Erik ten Hag, who admitted in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening that he has been unable to select his strongest starting XI ever since landing the job, was able to take just five senior defenders to Germany with him, one of whom was 35-year-old Jonny Evans. The Northern Irishman provided the only defensive cover on the bench.

United are also still without Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and deadline day signing Sofyan Amrabat, all of whom are understood to be on the comeback