Radamel Falcao was left stunned by Louis van Gaal’s decision to drop him at the weekend and fears he faces an uphill struggle to persuade Manchester United to keep him at the end of the season.
United manager Van Gaal shocked the 29-year-old by leaving him out of the 18 that lost at home to Southampton and watched the game at Old Trafford having received no explanation.
It is understood that Falcao and Van Gaal did talk at training at Carrington on Monday, with the Dutch coach telling the striker that the decision was made purely for tactical reasons.
Falcao has been doing voluntary extra training at United after recovering from a calf injury that interrupted his progress in late autumn and is trying to turn himself in to a more rounded forward in the mould of captain Wayne Rooney.
Despite this, the Colombian international believes that he sometimes has to do twice as much as other players to convince Van Gaal of his worth and was particularly bemused in late November to hear his manager say repeatedly that he had to get fully match fit before he could return to the team.
United are currently paying Falcao in excess of £280,000-a-week on loan from Monaco and must decide at the end of the season if they wish to make that move permanent. So far the former Porto and Atletico Madrid star has scored three goals in the Barclays Premier League.
Falcao is likely to return to the team at QPR this weekend after news that the muscle injury suffered by Robin van Persie on Sunday prevented him from travelling to the Ballon D’Or ceremony on Monday.
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