Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez all hobbled off injured during Manchester United‘s 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday. And the sight must have made Erik ten Hag wonder when he will catch a break.
The Red Devils boss spent much of last season battling defensive injury woes which forced him to constantly chop and change his back-four. Though the diagnoses for De Ligt, Mazraoui and Martinez are not yet known, Ten Hag would be wise to prepare for a worst case scenario ahead of their Carabao Cup meeting with Barnsley on Tuesday.
Without those three, as well as the injured Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof, United would be down to the bare bones at the back. So much so, in fact, that Ten Hag may have to ask a midfielder to chip in.
Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans are fit enough to take the two centre-back spots, while Diogo Dalot came through the trip to Southampton unscathed and is able to play on either the right or the left.
That leaves an awkward gap to be filled and, presuming the trio struck down with injury against the Saints need time to recover, there are no recognised defenders to fill it.
The prime candidate to drop from midfield into defence, as a player who has done it before, is Casemiro. But asking that of the 32-year-old could be uncomfortable for all involved.
Ten Hag is unlikely to have full faith in Casemiro as a defender in light of mistakes he made which led to goals against Arsenal and Crystal Palace while filling in at centre-back last season. Even in his favoured defensive midfield position, the Brazilian is in a concerning run of form.
Casemiro himself may not be too pleased either. The former Real Madrid star has effectively been replaced by Manuel Ugarte, and he faced the wrath of fans after an error-strewn performance against Liverpool before the international break.
Regaining their trust with an enforced shift in defence seems a tough task. “I mean I’ve done it probably two or three times, in my time at Real Madrid, playing centre-half,” Casemiro said, cagily, last year. “But everyone knows that I am a central midfielder. It’s not a role that I like to do but, you know what, I do it with the absolute best will in the world.”
Those comments highlight the notion that Ten Hag will be keeping his fingers crossed when Mazraoui, De Ligt and Martinez head for check-ups in the coming days.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk