United’s full back crisis opens door for 18-year-old Irish man

Now that would be a baptism of fire for the Waterford man.

Luke Shaw endured a frustrating first half in Old Trafford on Wedneday night. Not only was the 23-year-old credited with an own goal, but he also received a yellow card for a trip on Lionel Messi early on in the game. That yellow card rules him out of the second leg in the Camp Nou, which means that he will now miss Manchester United's next three games - He picked up his tenth yellow card of the Premier League season last weekend and he will now miss the upcoming games against Everton and West Ham. Given the full back crisis that Manchester United currently going through, this news comes as something that they could really have done without. On the right, not only has Ashley Young been struggling but he's also suspended for the next Premier League game against West Ham while on the left, Luke Shaw has no real natural replacement. The make-shift move will see Diogo Dalot - who started at left of centre in a back three against Barcelona - move out to the left while the wild Marcos Rojo also comes into contention. And then there's Ireland's Lee O'Connor. He was added to the Manchester United Champions League Squad on Wednesday morning as number 59 and given the shortage of deputies on the flanks, he could come right into line for his first ever senior match day squad. O'Connor, a product of Villa FC in Waterford was the Ireland under-19 captain last year and he has impressed for United youth sides in the last few years. https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/893749827145670656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E893749827145670656&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzz.ie%2Ffootball%2Fman-utd-add-republic-ireland-youth-captain-champions-league-squad-323297 He was called up to the Ireland senior squad by Martin O'Neill for friendlies against Northern Ireland and Denmark last year without making an appearance but the future looks bright.