Manchester United face a painful wait on the extent of an injury suffered by Christian Eriksen in their FA Cup fourth round victory against Reading at Old Trafford. Eriksen was subbed off just before the hour mark for Fred in between his Brazil team-mate Casemiro putting the hosts two goals up.
Fred then got himself on the scoresheet before Amadou Mbengue grabbed a late consolation goal for the Royals, who ended the game a man down following the dismissal of Andy Carrol.
Progress into the next round will come as great news for Erik ten Hag but he will certainly be worried about the extent of Eriksen's injury, with the Dane heading straight down the tunnel after his withdrawal, appearing in some discomfort.
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United are currently fourth on 39 points and are therefore, at the moment, the team Chelsea must catch up to if they want to finish in a Champions League spot. The Blues have certainly made a statement of intent for wanting to get back up to that spot, spending £213.7million in the January transfer window, with Malo Gusto the latest to join.
The 19-year-old will be loaned back to Lyon for the remainder of the season, but Chelsea have six players who can make a significant impact in the second half of the campaign. Marquee signings Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke along with Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana, a duo mostly eyed as prospects for the future, have all come through the door at Stamford Bridge.
There is still a significant gap between the Red Devils and Chelsea but United will be concerned about Eriksen, especially after he was seen leaving Old Trafford on crutches. Since his arrival from Brentford in the summer, the former Tottenham midfielder has been an integral part of ten Hag's rebuild, missing just one Premier League game so far this season.
Scott McTominay and Fred are both options in the midfield department for United but neither can likely match the creativity from deep that Eriksen provides and with Donny van de Beek out for the season, United may be forced into a late dash into the January transfer market in search of a new midfielder.
As was seen with the absence of Casemiro against Arsenal on Sunday, missing either the five-time Champions League winner or Eriksen is a huge blow for United. Not leaving of his own accord on Saturday could just be precautionary but it is very plausible a serious injury could have been suffered and his absence would be detrimental to United and their hopes of success this season.
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