After another appearance as an emergency centre back at West Ham in March, Michael Carrick was asked about the role he has filled all too frequently for Manchester United over the years.

‘You have to adapt,’ said the England midfielder. ‘There are different jobs to do in certain games, different formations that you have to adapt to. That is not something that bothers me. I could do without centre-half at times, especially against Andy Carroll, but that is something you have to live with.’

Still, Carrick could hardly have expected to be back at the heart of United’s defence in his first game under Louis van Gaal in last weekend’s Manchester derby.

Michael Carrick (right) could play the rest of the season at the heart of Manchester United's defence

Louis van Gaal's defensive injury woes forced the Dutchman to bring on Carrick at centre back on Sunday

MANCHESTER UNITED'S BACK FOUR Here is how United finished their 1-0 derby defeat against City at the back... Antonio Valencia (winger) Michael Carrick (midfielder) Paddy McNair (a kid) Luke Shaw (a prospect but a rookie) Advertisement

Fit again after ankle surgery in the summer, Carrick came off the bench just before half-time at the Etihad to fill in once again when Chris Smalling was sent off for a second booking. He finished the game playing alongside teenager Paddy McNair after Marcos Rojo was stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder.

Van Gaal may be forced to start with the same unlikely partnership at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, although he also has the option of Tyler Blackett.

With Rojo joining Jonny Evans (ankle) and Phil Jones (shin splints) on the sidelines, however, Carrick is preparing to drop into defence once again.

‘If I need to play there then fine,’ he said this week. ‘I have not had a lot of football recently so I will play anywhere.

‘It’s not somewhere I have played an awful lot of games. I have had spells of playing there over the years, playing two or three or four games in a season. But I don’t mind.’

Paddy McNair (left) and Luke Shaw (right) were part of United's makeshift defence against City on Sunday

The England international looked assured at the back as United lost 1-0 to rivals Manchester City

Nemanja Vidic was deemed past his sell-by date at Old Trafford but is now playing in Serie A for Inter Milan

United’s injury problems in defence this season have raised questions over Van Gaal’s decision not to bring in a specialised centre-back in the summer despite losing Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand and spending more than £150million on new players.

The latest names to be linked with a move to Old Trafford are Ron Vlaar of Aston Villa and FC Porto’s £10m-rated Bruno Martins Indi, but Van Gaal’s hands are tied until the January transfer window opens in nearly two months’ time.

It means that this may not be the last time that Carrick is pressed into duty as an emergency defender by the Dutchman, and the 33-year-old’s track record in that position suggests that it represents something of a gamble.

He impressed in the 2-0 win at Upton Park in March, having previously played next to Evans in a 5-0 win over Wigan in 2011 and in a back-three alongside Patrice Evra and Darren Fletcher during a 3-1 Champions League win over Wolfsburg two years earlier.

Chris Smalling was shown a second yellow card for this challenge on James Milner and will now be suspended

United's spending included a summer buy on defender Marcos Rojo who is now out with a dislocated shoulder

In fact, last summer Gary Neville suggested that Carrick would be an ideal candidate if Van Gaal was to persevere with the three-man defensive system he has long since discarded.

But more often than not it has been an awkward fit. Many fans will remember Carrick being outjumped by Marouane Fellaini for Everton’s winning goal on the opening weekend of the 2012-13 season after he was forced to fill in for the injured Ferdinand at Goodison Park.

Subsequent appearances as a centre back alongside Evans against Braga and then Vidic against Fulham that season proved little better, even though United recovered to win 3-2 on both occasions.

Winger Antonio Valencia (right) started the Manchester derby at right back for United

Carrick is no stranger to having to fill in at centre back for the Old Trafford club

Prior to that, Carrick was at fault for one of Blackburn’s goals as United suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to the Premier League’s bottom club on New Year’s Eve in 2011, and was also part of a back-three alongside Fletcher and Ritchie De Laet that was taken apart in a 3-0 defeat at Fulham in 2009.

There could be no blame attached to his performance at the Etihad last week as 10-man United came close to salvaging a draw after falling behind to Sergio Aguero’s strike.

But as a gifted player known more for his passing technique than his tenacity faces the prospect of another spell in defence, Carrick has more reason than most to bemoan United’s baffling injury problems under Van Gaal.

VIDEO Old Trafford defensive crisis for Van Gaal