David de Gea says Marcel Sabitzer is capable of replacing the suspended Casemiro ahead of Manchester United's upcoming home and away games against Leeds United.
Casemiro will serve a three-match ban after he was shown a straight red for grabbing Crystal Palace midfielder Will Hughes by the scruff of the neck in a heated melee between both teams.
Man United are also without Christian Eriksen until April due to an ankle injury, while Scott McTominay is unavailable for two more weeks.
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The Red Devils signed Sabitzer from Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the season on transfer deadline day, and the Austrian midfielder impressed as a second-half substitute against the Eagles.
Erik ten Hag's side held on to win 2-1 against Palace at Old Trafford, and De Gea has backed Sabitzer to fill the huge void left by Casemiro in the midfield.
“It’s going to be tough for sure. We already lost Christian, now Casemiro: big players for us," De Gea revealed after the game via The Guardian.
"But we have a bigger squad, players are ready to play, everyone is really focused. Sabitzer showed already – he played 15 to 20 minutes and he did really well, made some good tackles, he is good with the ball. And, everyone is ready to play.
“He’s an experienced guy – he played a lot of games in the Bundesliga, is a nice guy – it’s good for the dressing room.
"It’s not easy to come in a game when we’re one man less, he showed good spirit, he’s going to help the team a lot.”
Managerless Leeds will travel to Old Trafford tonight, before welcoming the Red Devils to Elland Road on Sunday.
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