James Wilson has given Louis van Gaal an injury scare after he suffered a dead leg playing for Manchester United Under-21s in Monday evening’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland.

The 19-year-old, who is one of Van Gaal’s four frontline strikers alongside Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, was taken off after 39 minutes of the U21 Premier League match at the Stadium of Light.

Wilson has made 16 appearances for United this season under Van Gaal, scoring two goals, and is pushing for a regular start. With Falcao and Van Persie both struggling for form, Wilson’s pace offers the manager a different option. He last played in the 3-1 victory Burnley at Old Trafford on 11 February replacing Falcao after 74 minutes. Falcao has only four goals in 19 appearances and Van Persie has managed 10 in 26 for the club.

Tyler Blackett, who has played 10 times under Van Gaal since making his debut this season, was sent off against Sunderland after 53 minutes.

Daley Blind meanwhile, signed from Ajax in the summer, is enjoying the quick pace of English football. He said: “The biggest difference is the Premier League is played at a much higher tempo. In Holland you have some points in a game when you can say: ‘OK, let’s have a rest for a few minutes and play the ball around!’ When I played my first games here, I noticed the difference and was a little tired! The tempo is definitely much higher here.

“That’s one of the things I like and also every team in the Premier League is capable of winning against the other team. It’s a higher level and higher tempo. In Holland only really four or five teams are fighting with each other [for the title] – there is a big difference with the rest.”