Robin van Persie has a reputation of being a player that picks up injuries easily, but the truth is that the Manchester United forward had cast aside that myth – up until recently.

There is no doubt that the reigning Premier League champions’ odds of retaining their title will be improved if they can get the Netherlands international fit and firing, but the striker has endured a frustrating start to the new campaign.

Although Van Persie had a reputation as a bit of a sicknote in his earlier days at Arsenal, the hitman seems to have become more robust and less susceptible to knocks as he has gotten older.

The first game that Van Persie missed this season was the 4-1 Manchester derby defeat to City at the Etihad Stadium, which actually ended a superlative run of 90 successive Premier League games that he featured in for Arsenal and United.

Usually an ever-present, the Dutch striker has missed key games for club and country this term. He has been absent for three of United’s Premier League clashes, and missed the English side’s dominant 5-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in midweek.

There have been rumblings in the press that Van Persie starting to pick up knocks may well be down to David Moyes’ style of training, with a number of the United players openly admitting that their new boss has a tendency to work his squad hard.

Moyes’ training methods are believed to involve a lot more running and endurance drills, including interval sessions, sprints and dynamic workouts.

Naturally this needs to be managed and if undertaken on a regular basis, as along with a bulging fixture list it can take its toll on the body.

The last thing that United want is to have their star striker on the sidelines for any length of time. The player will want to get back to his best to challenge for honours this term, and will also have the World Cup in the back of his mind.