Luke Shaw sustained an injury in the Carabao Cup final but you wouldn't have known it throughout that match at Wembley.
The left-back played the entire 90 minutes last Sunday afternoon and the knock he sustained has not been specified since, but it was enough for him to be absent from the matchday squad to play West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday.
"One is ill [Sancho], the other [Shaw] is a small injury, I hope it's not too bad," Ten Hag said. "We'll have to see how it develops to Sunday, but he's not available for tonight. We know we have good players in the squad and we can replace that."
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Shaw was replaced by Tyrell Malacia, who usurped him earlier in the season, for the visit of West Ham but there is no denying the England international is objectively the more accomplished left-back than his Dutch teammate at this stage.
After defeats against Brighton and Brentford in August, Shaw was demoted to the bench but he won his starting place back by October. Malacia had to be hooked in consecutive games and that opened the door for Shaw to return.
Since winning back his starting place, Shaw has been exceptional and he's even impressed at centre-back, such is his form. He's confirmed his status as first-choice left-back with Erik ten Hag in charge and he's emphatically rediscovered his form.
David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo were the only two players to emerge with any credit from last season and Shaw was among the majority in the dressing room who hopelessly underperformed and looked devoid of confidence.
However, Shaw is already a single assist away from equalling his haul from last season (five) and he's also got on the scorehseet, which he failed to do playing under three different managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick or Ralf Rangnick, last year.
The 27-year-old was regarded by many as the best left-back in the world in the 2020/21 season and he's striving to reach those levels again. His improvement has been remarkable and the numbers lay bare the extent of the difference in his game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Shaw is superior on every defensive metric this season compared to last term. He's averaged more ball recoveries, interceptions and defensive actions, while he's also lost the ball on fewer occasions.
The most significant improvement Shaw has made is intercepting the ball. Ten Hag wants his side to press high and he averaged 3.37 interceptions per 90 in the Premier League last season, which has been raised to 6.31 this time around.
Shaw is playing with a higher intensity and that has seen him return to his best. He's also improved the majority of his passing metrics, with the exception of passing the ball into the final third, and he's been able to complement Lisandro Martinez well.
Martinez is an outstanding passer of the ball - which is rare for a centre-back - and his passing is key in breaking the lines. To have two competent passers on the left side of the defence is an asset and it helps Marcus Rashford on that flank.
Shaw is also close to doubling the number of shots he is averaging per 90 in the league from last season and that suggests he should score his second goal of the campaign sooner rather than later.
He's improved in every area and it's little wonder he's enjoying his football again.
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