Christian Eriksen has been ruled out for three months with an ankle injury.
The 30-year-old has slotted into life at Old Trafford seamlessly since joining as a free agent in the summer, making 31 appearances in all competitions.
Eriksen has played a vital role as United fight on four fronts but will now have to watch from the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in Saturday’s 3-1 FA Cup win against Reading.
The club unusually mentioned the opponent involved, Andy Carroll, in a statement that added, “initial assessments indicate that Eriksen is likely to be out until late April or early May.”
Manager Erik ten Hag said United would cope with the Dane.
“He’s disappointed, we are disappointed, but it happens in top football. You have to deal with it.
“We have players in the midfield department and good players. We have players who can fill that gap.
“Another player will always fill it in a different way, but that doesn’t mean you have to be less successful.
Scott McTominay was absent for the match against Reading and the injured Eriksen was replaced by substitute Fred, who produced a solid display and scored with an audacious flick.
“He’s playing together with Casemiro in the Brazilian squad,” Ten Hag said of the latter. “I would say that’s not the worst squad in the world.
“They have so many choices that they can make but they often prefer to play them together so that tells something about the quality Fred has and what he can contribute to the team.”
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