Manchester United will take on Real Betis on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie, with the Reds boasting a comfortable 4-1 lead on aggregate.
The two sides met last week at Old Trafford and United, who had a point to prove following the defeat at Anfield five days prior, dominated proceedings and could have won by a greater margin.
That win was followed up by a 0-0 draw with Southampton in the Premier League but the odds were against Erik ten Hag’s men after Casemiro’s first-half red card.
The four-game suspension that came with Casemiro’s dismissal is a huge blow but later in the game, Ten Hag would be dealt another one as Alejandro Garnacho was withdrawn due to injury.
Garnacho, who was called up to the Argentina senior squad for this month’s international fixtures, was almost immediately ruled out of the game against Betis and now, speaking in his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag has confirmed that the exciting winger has sustained a ‘serious’ injury.
“I can’t say exactly [when he will be back]. It will take weeks, it is a serious injury. Once again, after Christian Eriksen, we have a serious injury after a contact,” the Dutchman said according to the Manchester Evening News.
Garnacho’s withdrawal from the Argentina squad has not been confirmed yet but this is certainly a big blow for United, especially considering how well he has been performing since the turn of the year.
Garnacho has quickly grown into a reliable first-team player and that feat is made more impressive after Ten Hag garnered doubts about his attitude in last summer’s pre-season.
Hopefully, Garnacho will not be ruled out for too long and he still has a part to play this season.
