Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has explained the importance of a strong squad, with the Red Devils having a busy run of matches ahead of the break for the World Cup.
The 20-time English champions have already played five times since the start of October, while they have another four matches before the end of the month.
Ten Hag's side will then play Real Sociedad, Aston Villa twice and Fulham in the early stages of November, before the campaign breaks for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Dutchman has said that the club have been doing their best to protect the players during a busy run of matches, and he has insisted that the squad at Old Trafford will be key over the next few weeks.
"From the start of the season, we did that, tried to plan that, the overload of players. You see around, with many clubs now, injuries are coming up," Ten Hag told reporters when asked about the situation during Tuesday's press conference ahead of the Tottenham Hotspur clash.
"And you can't avoid everything because it's top football. In top football, they go to the limits and injuries will come. With this many games in a long season, and also what's a huge problem is that players don't get a break in the summer.
"So [there is] a huge overload on the players, so they can't recover, so you have to manage that. So you have to protect the players as a manager to get the best out of them.
"Not only from the risk of injury but also to keep them in the right form in the end of the season. You have to rotate, you need a squad.
"You need more than 11 players so you can rotate and you have to keep everyone fresh to avoid big injuries as much as you can, and to get them in the right shape and to keep them in the right shape and the right form."
Ten Hag was also asked about Tottenham boss Antonio Conte, with the Italian due to bring his team to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The 52-year-old branded Conte "a fabulous manager" and said that the Italian's ability to implement his style of football quickly makes him one of the top coaches in the world.
"He's a fabulous manager. He's winning titles, trophies in the Premier League, in Italy, and you can really see his signature in the match from his team and that's a big compliment I think," said the Dutchman.
Conte won three Serie A titles during his time with Juventus, in addition to lifting the trophy with Inter Milan.
The 53-year-old also won the Premier League and FA Cup while in charge of Chelsea, with the Italian managing the Blues between July 2016 and July 2018. body check tags ::
