Erik ten Hag has admitted that Casemiro is at risk of injury, but he also states that this is true for every Manchester United player.
The 30-year-old Casemiro started each of the three cup matches in the last ten days against Nottingham Forest and Reading. He also entered the game for 30 minutes of the League Cup victory over Charlton last month.
The Brazilian started and played all 90 minutes in 12 of United’s last 13 Premier League games, and he missed only the match against Arsenal due to suspension.
Casemiro has started on the bench in three of United’s 25 games since making his full-time United debut against Real Sociedad on September 8. In his three years with the club, Bruno Fernandes has only ever missed one game due to injury or illness, but he has been benched twice this season.
Ten Hag has admitted that Casemiro is susceptible to injury, as are other players, due to the unfortunate nature of the game. As reported by the Manchester Evening News, he said:
“He’s important but in top football there’s a risk and we know that. We know players get injured and you can’t avoid it. Of course, if you want to be successful in the season you need your key players on board and that’s definitely the truth.”
“I think it’s not possible to have two Casemiros or two Christian Eriksens. I think in that part we can be a bit deeper but also I think we said before the season that we want to restore Man United but it will take time. It will take seasons to get back the days when you can compete for everything and for the highest trophies in the world.”
“It is (a risk) for every player and Bruno is also playing every game. Those players are capable of it and that’s why they are so good. You can always rely on them as a club and that’s why they have won so many trophies.”
This week, Ten Hag expressed his displeasure with Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta for his elbow hit on Lisandro Martinez and Reading striker Andy Carroll’s careless foul on Eriksen in their 3-1 FA Cup loss at United.
Remo Freuler hit Wout Weghorst in the shin during United’s victory over Forest in the middle of the week, but strangely, no penalty was given. It’s VAR Michael Salisbury did not get any advice from the on-field referee to review the foul.
Such mistakes by the referee in ignoring the calls of a foul or letting players escape without any punishment have made players vulnerable to injuries. Although no player can guarantee complete fitness, any manager will make sure that his players are protected at all costs.
