Manchester United face an anxious wait to discover the severity of Christian Eriksen's ankle injury after he left Old Trafford at the end of Saturday night's 3-1 FA Cup win over Reading on crutches.
The Dane, who joined United on a free transfer last summer, was forced off shortly before the hour mark, having picked up a knock following a hefty challenge from Reading striker Andy Carroll, who was later sent-off for a crunching tackle on Casemiro. Eriksen was replaced by Fred, who went on to score United's third goal of the game.
Eriksen has been a virtually ever-present figure for United this season, racking up 31 appearances in all competitions. He has featured in all but one of the Reds' matches this season, only missing the goalless draw with Newcastle United back in October through illness.
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Issuing an update on the former Brentford man in his post-match press conference on Saturday evening, Ten Hag said: "It is always difficult to say so short after the game finished. But it is an ankle injury, and we have to see what is the diagnosis."
In the event of Eriksen's injury forcing him to endure a spell on the sidelines, United are, of course, going to be a man light in midfield, disrupting their favoured midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and the Danish international that has worked so well this season. With that in mind, MEN Sport has had a quick look at three ways United could possibly line-up if they are to be without the midfielder for a period of time.
Fred slots in
The most logical and likely scenario in the event of Eriksen being out of action for a while is for Fred to come into the side and take his place. The Brazilian has improved this season and certainly made his presence felt after stepping onto the pitch on Saturday evening, albeit against a Championship side.
Fred, although he does not have the same ball-playing qualities as Eriksen, will bring energy to the midfield and work in tandem with Casemiro in one of the two deeper midfield positions. He has improved this season under Ten Hag and would give United something different.
Casemiro has proven himself to be more than just a world-class destroyer, meaning he may have to pick up the baton from Eriksen and control matches even more. He is capable, proven by his qualities in possession.
McTominay changes the dynamic
Another contender to come into the side at Eriksen's expense is Scott McTominay. The midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Newcastle United during this month's transfer window, did start the season as a regular starter for the Reds, but was soon dropped once Casemiro got up to speed.
He, of course, is a completely different type of midfielder to Eriksen, meaning he would not bring the same forward-thinking and ball-playing expertise to the table as the former Tottenham Hotspur man does. He would be a better candidate to come into the side if it was Casemiro sidelined through injury.
McTominay is a defensive-minded midfielder and him coming into the side to replace Eriksen risks making the team just that little bit more defensive-minded. Him coming in may mean that Casemiro would have to, again, take up Eriksen's duty and be the main orchestrator, allowing McTominay to look after defensive matters in the main.
Mainoo gamble
With Donny van de Beek sidelined for the rest of the season through injury, United are thin on numbers in midfield, meaning you can see why Ten Hag was so desperate to sign Frenkie de Jong in addition to Eriksen last summer. United don't have a like-for-like replacement for Eriksen, certainly not one who can control a game in the same way and orchestrate proceedings from deep.
With that said, though it could be considered as a huge gamble, Ten Hag could take a punt on Kobbie Mainoo and give him his first taste of Premier League football. It would, of course, be a big jump for the 17-year-old to make, but Ten Hag thinks very highly of him. He can operate as a box-to-box midfielder as well as an attacking-midfielder.
He made his senior debut for the club against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup earlier this month, being awarded a start, and stepped off the bench against Reading on Saturday. He has also been on the bench for four league fixtures this season.
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