Manchester United are getting ready for a gruelling final six weeks of the season and speaking ahead of this weekend’s game against Everton, Erik ten Hag has confirmed a major fitness boost.
Ten Hag has been without some of his most important players over the last two months, namely his two first-choice midfielders as Casemiro has been suspended for seven games in total and Christian Eriksen has been missing since January with an ankle injury.
Casemiro will serve the final game of his four-match suspension this weekend and Eriksen returned to full training earlier this week in what can only be described as a significant boost for the Reds.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag confirmed that Eriksen is finally ready to return to the squad and will be available against Everton.
He also confirmed that Luke Shaw would not be fit to face the Toffees, with the left-back seen limping off the pitch in the 1-0 win over Brentford earlier this week.
“Luke Shaw is not available for tomorrow,” Ten Hag is quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.
“We have to see about the progress for the coming week, but the good news is Eriksen is back in training and he will be in the squad.
“At first, it was a really bad tackle and a bad injury. He’s ahead of schedule, so we’re happy with that.”
SN’s verdict…
The axis formed by Casemiro and Eriksen in the first half of the season is one of the main reasons behind United’s promising campaign and when they were both replaced, you could immediately tell how much it affected the football.
United have not come out on the other side unscathed but it could have been worse and with the side still gunning for another two trophies, their returns are perfectly timed.
