As Erik ten Hag left Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, the Manchester United boss must have been cursing his luck to lose yet another midfielder for the next three Premier League games.
Ever the perfectionist, what could have been a fine performance against Crystal Palace was tainted by the rash decision of Casemiro to get involved in a scrap and the ensuing struggle. That Jordan Ayew should also have seen red does not help the case for the Brazilian's defence
United held on for three points thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, but what will concern Ten Hag is the speed with which his side conceded after losing Casemiro. The Dutchman will be without his midfield rock for the upcoming double-header against Leeds United plus the welcoming of Leicester City to Old Trafford on February 19.
RATINGS: Varane and Martinez superb in Palace win
Christian Eriksen will also miss all three after picking up an ankle injury which has ruled him out until late April. Scott McTominay has been touch and go since missing the FA Cup win over Reading, with Ten Hag confirming the Scot will be sidelined for "two weeks, maybe even longer".
That leaves Fred and new signing Marcel Sabitzer as the only natural senior options, but given both look at their best going forward, neither will be too keen on sitting in front of a back-four for 90 minutes.
Ten Hag can often pull an ace from his jacket sleeve and did so in the final 10 minutes of United's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest. Two goals on the night had the Reds 5-0 up on aggregate and already trying to book an Avanti West Coast down to London for February 26, but the introduction of Victor Lindelof to replace Casemiro off the bench raised more than a few eyebrows.
"Lindelof was educated as a six, as a controlling, holding midfielder in Benfica," the United boss said after the match that evening. "So I know he can do that and we already tried it before in training and maybe in one game. But also I sometimes want my centre halves playing in midfield positions so that we create dynamics. So it’s just to construct more dynamics in the team."
Indeed the Sweden international performed well in his midfield cameo, no doubt providing plenty of food for thought as Ten Hag ponders how to approach the upcoming fixtures without their central core. One might argue a more defensively-minded approach may suit the chaos that comes with facing Jesse Marsch's high-octane Leeds side, or that a centre-back may be better suited to shackling an in-form James Maddison against Leicester.
Replacing Casemiro is no easy feat. There is a reason he has featured in 29 of the 30 games since his debut against Southampton. But doing so effectively will prove vital if United and Ten Hag are to cement their place in the top four during this pivotal month.
On current form, you'd be silly not to trust him.
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