Erik Ten Hag says £350k-per-week star faces ‘race against clock’ to play v Man City

Add as preferred source on Google

Erik ten Hag has admitted that Casemiro could return from injury against Manchester City this weekend.

Casemiro has missed two games in a row due to injury now, after picking up an injury while on duty with Brazil.

In his absence, Manchester United have won back-to-back games, but his defensive acumen will be greatly appreciated against Manchester City should he manage to return.

His return isn’t believed to be far off after he trained earlier this week in advance of the Champions League game.

Now though, in his pre-game press conference, Erik Ten Hag has discussed whether his £350k-per-week player will be fit.

Ten Hag on Casemiro

Speaking in his pre-game presser which Sky Sports News covered, Ten Hag gave an update on the Brazilian’s return.

“For Casa [Casemiro], it is a race against the clock.” The Dutchman said which indicates a decision is yet to be made regarding his fitness.

Casemiro has been training all week which should suggest he will be fit to play against Manchester City this weekend.

Despite being hooked at half-time in his previous game, we think Casemiro will be vital here and could end up being the deciding factor.

Does he deserve to be starting

Assuming Casemiro passes a late fitness test, he still might not manage to regain his place in the team.

This is because of how poor he has been at times this season, which led to his half-time substitution against Brentford.

The ball-playing of Sofyan Amrabat has been good in his absence, however defensively, the best option could be to have both men in midfield to offer security and allow the attack ahead to roam free.

We aren’t sure Casemiro will start, however, the line-up needs to change somehow as the previous two performances have been awful.