Manchester United were seemingly unphased by the last-minute injury to Marcel Sabitzer ahead of their 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Sabitzer was originally set to start in midfield at the City Ground alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, but the Austrian was seen leaving United's warm-up early with concerns over his fitness. Christian Eriksen was subsequently informed at the last minute he will fill in, with the Danish international enjoying a first start since his return from injury.
A late change had little effect on Erik ten Hag's side who dominated from the off at Forest, taking a well-deserved lead midway through the first half when Antony got a first touch on a rebound of Anthony Martial's effort.
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The Reds saw countless chances come and go, with concerns of a sucker punch growing despite a lack of threat from Steve Cooper's side. Eventually, Antony set up Diogo Dalot for United's second with 15 minutes to go.
United were dominant from start to finish at the City Ground, with the advanced midfield pair of Buno Fernandes and late introduction Eriksen finding acres of space to play from.
And the Danish midfielder has explained his reaction to finding out the news he would be getting a surprise start.
"We did some finishing in the end, that’s always the last drill before we do some sprints and go in," Eriksen explained. "When we started doing finishing I heard that Marcel had felt something and he’d gone in, I was preparing myself to see if I was ready or not.
"At the time I didn’t know if he was going to pick me, they asked me just be ready - they don’t know who is going to come on but just be ready. On the way in I was told I think it’s you, I said ‘okay, that’s fine.’ Mentally I was ready. I’ve been out for a while so I need to do my prep and make sure I’m ready, that’s really throwing me in and like today I’ll be ready."
Sabitzer had been a regular feature for United in recent weeks, enjoying a more advanced role behind the striker while Fernandes dictated play from deep.
The on-loan midfielder's absence could have derailed plans, but Fernandes praised his teammates for a professional reaction.
"Obviously it’s really bad news for us," Fernandes added of Sabitzer's absence. "That [a position change] doesn’t matter, the most important thing is whoever replaces him does a really good job - that was Christian [Eriksen]. He came on with a great mentality, we are not only 11 players so everyone has to be ready, these kinds of things can happen.
"We are one of the teams where the subs have more of an impact in games - if not the most impact with goals or assists, or even during the game, giving some fresh legs to the team. So, I think everyone was ready and we dealt really well with the situation."
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