Both players were taken off at the break with Man United 4-0 up.
Solskjaer was merely trying to protect the duo from unnecessary injuries.
Speaking to MUTV after the Southampton thrashing on Tuesday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “Edinson Cavani was good but he got a bad tackle on his ankle, so there wasn’t any point taking risks. Hopefully, it won’t swell up too much.

“Luke Shaw has played really well. The way he is at the moment, with intensity, high speed running, and the spaces that appeared for him, you run the risk if you keep doing that of getting injured. So they were the changes we made.”

Manchester United were 4-0 up against the Saints at half-time and both Cavani and Shaw were taken off the pitch with Saturday’s game against Everton in mind.

However, the Red Devils didn’t stop there and went on to score 5 more goals in the second half to make the final Old Trafford scoreline 9-0.