Casemiro’s Manchester derby availability is up in the air, according to Erik ten Hag.
The Manchester derby is now a day we Manchester United fans dread. Recently, it has been one way traffic in favour of our opponents. This season, our form doesn’t fill me with confidence heading into tomorrow’s game against City. It’s fair to say we’re fearing the worst.
With United injury problems still decimating the squad, I’m thinking we could be in for an absolute drubbing yet again. What’s even more embarrassing is that it’s a home game…
Ahead of the match, we’ve been dealt further injury woes. It was Erik ten Hag himself who confirmed the news on Casemiro, with the key United player ‘in a race against the clock’ to be fit for the Manchester derby tomorrow.
Check out what Erik ten Hag had to say on Casemiro’s fitness here:
“Case is a race against the clock,” Ten Hag said, per ManUtd.com. “He is not 100 per cent.”
“He will do everything he can to be part of it, to start the game, but we have to see. We have some hours to go.”
The Brazil international picked up a problem while playing for his country, which is massively disappointing. He’s already missed a couple of games with the issue and judging by Ten Hag’s body language during his press conference, I’d assume he’s trending towards being unavailable here.
With Casemiro being the only recognisable defensive-midfielder in the United squad, this is a massive loss. The ex-Real Madrid man hasn’t been at his best this season, though I’d still pick him to start in these big games every single time.
In terms of replacements, it’ll likely be Sofyan Amrabat who is tasked with sitting in the defensive third and doing the dirty work. There’s also a chance that Scott McTominay continues to start games after his goals of late. Personally, I’d go with an Amrabat-Mason Mount-Bruno Fernandes trio here. Assuming Casemiro isn’t ready to go.
Do you think we’ll see Casemiro play in the Manchester derby? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
