Erik ten Hag will be without Christian Eriksen until April as Manchester United look to secure a Champions League spot – thanks to a challenge from Andy Carroll over the weekend
Manchester United will be without star midfielder Christian Eriksen until April – with the Dane sustaining an ankle injury in their FA Cup clash with Reading.
Andy Carroll lunged in from behind Eriksen, leaving the United star in pain on the floor. Eriksen was later seen leaving Old Trafford on crutches, while Carroll was eventually sent off on Saturday evening after a late challenge on Casemiro.
In a statement, United said: “Christian Eriksen is expected to be out of action for an extended period because of an ankle injury sustained in our FA Cup victory over Reading on Saturday.
“Our Danish midfielder was withdrawn in the second half of the 3-1 win after being caught by a tackle from Reading striker Andy Carroll. While investigations are continuing, initial assessments indicate that Eriksen is likely to be out until late April or early May.
“Eriksen’s absence will be a big disappointment to manager Erik ten Hag and fans given the consistency of his performances throughout the season so far.
“However, there is hope that Christian can return in time to play a role in the final stages of the season. We all wish Christian the best of luck for a speedy recovery!”
One United fan fumed: “A reminder that Andy Carroll was not booked at all for that horrific scissor tackle on Eriksen”
“The fact Eriksen is out for months makes it even more ludicrous that Andy Carroll didn’t even get a booking for that challenge,” a second added. While a third tweeted: “What Andy Carroll did is foul, Three months without Eriksen. This is criminal!”
And a fourth fumed: “The ‘magic of the FA Cup’ is now reduced to letting carthorses like Fabinho and Carroll kick around velvet-touch ballers like Evan Ferguson and Eriksen.”
United had just started to hit their groove under Erik ten Hag, and the Red Devils had even found themsleves with an outside shout of the title earlier this month.
However, a couple of poor results have seen United dragged back into the top four race.
SOURCE: dailystar.co.uk
