Raphael Varane has admitted Manchester United must not dwell on Casemiro's red card and let it impact their season after he was sent off against Southampton.
The Brazilian was shown his marching orders for a late, nasty-looking challenge on Carlos Alcaraz in the first-half of their 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. Casemiro was pictured in tears after he was handed a straight red card by referee Anthony Taylor, before the midfielder strolled down the tunnel.
He will now miss the FA Cup quarter-final tie against Fulham at Old Trafford and a further three Premier League matches after the international break. United travel to Newcastle on April 2, before they face Brentford and Everton at home.
Those three games could determine whether United finish inside the Champions League places - and Varane has warned his teammates that they cannot allow Casemiro's ban to derail their campaign.
After the draw with Southampton, Varane said: "He's a player who's very important for us. He brings balance to the team and to the squad.
"But we have a great squad and we have to find another balance without him, but we have good players in every position on the pitch and we're ready for the next games.
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"I think he was very disappointed because nobody wants to get out of the pitch before the end but as I say it's part of football. It was obviously very disappointing but we can focus on the next games and that's it."
He added: "I think it's frustrating. Happy with the mentality, the fighting spirit. The team fought as a group and that's the positive point. We knew we needed to run a little bit more, to be a bit more defensive but we reacted as a team, as a group and with a good mentality.
“We fight for each other. The crowd as well. We feel the support. I think we can be proud of the fighting spirit, obviously disappointed by the result but great teamwork."
This is the second time Casemiro has been sent off this season after he was shown a straight red card in United's 2-1 win over Crystal Palace last month. He had to miss three league matches as a consequence of his first sending off, but now will sit out of four games as United head into another crucial period of the campaign.
However, Casemiro will be available for the Europa League last-16 second-leg trip to Real Betis on Thursday as his ban does not roll over into European matches. The Red Devils ran out 4-1 winners in the first-leg against their Spanish counterparts and Varane is confident mood despite being held by Southampton.
Varane continued: "I think if you take apart [i.e. take away] the game against Liverpool, we were in a good moment and good results so we have to keep the confidence. Obviously we want a good result to keep the rhythm.
"I think the winning mentality is here in this group. We want to win every game so we have to fight and be ready for Thursday."
