Man Utd Boss Ten Hag Reveals 2 Star Players Out Of Action Until At Least Christmas

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has revealed a major double injury setback ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Copenhagen.

Ten Hag, in a pre-match conference on Tuesday, said that he does not expect defender Lisandro Martinez and midfielder Casemiro to return to action before Christmas. The South Americans played a significant role in Manchester United's campaign last season and were among Ten Hag's first signings at the helm at Old Trafford in 2022.

Casemiro, Martinez's injury issues

Martinez and Casemiro were influential in the Red Devils' path to finishing third in the Premier League, reaching the FA Cup final and ending their six-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup.

Unfortunately for Ten Hag, both players have suffered from injury issues in the 2023-24 season, being out of action for the majority of the time. Martinez, who is dealing with a foot injury, has not featured since September's defeat to Brighton, while Casemiro sustained a hamstring injury in Manchester United's 3-0 thrashing at home against Newcastle United last week.

"I have some time schedules, yeah, but it's always difficult to predict that because they can get setbacks during the rehab period so I'm always holding back a little bit on some issues. I expect some back but Casemiro and Martinez are really strong injuries and I don't expect them back before Christmas. It's several weeks," Ten Hag told reporters on Tuesday.

Martinez recently underwent surgery to help fix the foot issue and is expected to be out until New Year in order for the injury to fully heal and avoid any reoccurrence.

Casemiro has had a frustrating 2023-24 campaign, dealing with poor form and fitness issues. The Brazilian midfielder missed around six games after suffering an injury while on international duty last month before returning to action against Newcastle last week. However, he lasted on the pitch only for 45 minutes as he suffered a hamstring injury during the game at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag is also without his left-back duo Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw. Both the defenders are yet to feature since August, and are expected to be reintegrated into the Manchester United squad after the November international break. Malacia had knee surgery in the summer and Shaw has been out of action since Aug. 19 with a hamstring tear.

Man Utd's team news ahead of Copenhagen game

In some good news for the Dutch boss, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is "100 per cent" fit to play against Copenhagen. The English forward missed Saturday's 1-0 win over Fulham with a small knock but trained at Carrington on Tuesday ahead of his side's away fixture in Denmark.

"[He is] 100 per cent [ready]. Rashy missed one game [with] a small knock, but he's back," Ten Hag told reporters.

Ten Hag also spoke about centre-back Harry Maguire's situation, confirming that the former Man Utd captain is available for their upcoming game in Copenhagen.

Maguire suffered a head injury in the early stages of Saturday's victory at Fulham, but was able to complete the match and help the Reds record a 1-0 win.

"So, we did all the protocols during the game, after the game, he's ready to play," confirmed the manager.

Manchester United centre-back Victor Lindelof is expected to return for Wednesday's Champions League outing having missed the trip to Craven Cottage.

The Red Devils have one win from three matches in the Champions League and they currently sit third in Group A, with Bayern Munich at the top of the table. Ten Hag's side started their European campaign with back-to-back losses to the Bundesliga champions and Galatasaray.

Manchester United have managed just two wins from their last four games in all competitions.