Manchester United's short-term defensive solution is already at the club

Harry Maguire's injury concerns couldn't come at a worse time for Manchester United.

The centre-back's hip problem could send United into the Premier League clash against Norwich with Victor Lindelof as the only fit senior option in central defence - although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer eased fears of a long-term absence, saying he is in contention to play on Saturday.

Phil Jones could be called upon again if he recovered from the cramp picked up against Manchester City, but after that, the options are thin. Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe have all been out for a while, and Solskjaer might have to dip into the youth team.

In front of the defence, the options in midfield are not much better, with Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay both injured themselves. The situation leaves United heavily reliant on Nemanja Matic - a proposition that won't strike too much confidence in many fans.

But it should.

The Serbian has been inconsistent under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but a statistic pointed out by Reddit user u/Heimebane shows how United's defence is dramatically improved when Matic has started this season.

In the nine games Matic has started this season, United have kept clean sheets on seven occasions - against Leicester, Astana, AZ Alkmaar (twice), Colchester, Burnley, and Wolves. Only against West Ham and Arsenal have United conceded, with a clean sheet rate of 78 per cent when Matic starts.

In contrast, United have kept just three clean sheets in the 23 games he has not started (against Partizan twice and the 4-0 win over Chelsea). That is a clean sheet in just 13 per cent of games.

Matic was also a half time substitute in the recent defeat to Manchester City, where the second half finished 1-0 to United. City players admitted after the game they were more defensive themselves, although Matic still shored up a side that was being ripped apart before his introduction.

There have been suggestions that Matic could be deployed at centre-back himself to help United. That is an option, but it might be wiser for him to hold things together in midfield and relieve the pressure on what will surely be an inexperienced centre-back pairing.

As Solskjaer looks to patch together a side capable of keeping it tight at the back with key personnel missing, Matic could be the key to minimising the effects of the growing injury list - and help improve United's season-long clean sheet issue at the same time.