Louis van Gaal has revealed that Ander Herrera and Adnan Januzaj have returned to training ahead of Manchester United's trip to Stoke City on Thursday afternoon.

The midfield duo have so far missed the festive period with injury and illness respectively.

While Van Gaal opted against confirming if either would be involved at the Britannia Stadium, it has been suggested that both will at least make the trip to the Potteries.

Meanwhile, Van Gaal went on to add that his returning defenders are currently lacking "any match rhythm".

"There are players coming back, we have seen the first signs of that in the last two games with Rafael [da Silva], Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw," he told reporters.

"They don't have any match rhythm and that's my problem, it's the case with a few players. We played three or four games in the space of a week, so we need these players now more than ever. It's now difficult for me to select the team."

United go into the clash against Stoke third in the Premier League, having not lost any of their last nine outings.