Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has given bittersweet news on the injury front ahead of their clash against Everton.
While Rasmus Hojlund is in contention to make the squad for the tricky fixture, the news is worse on Eriksen’s front.
No specific return timeline was provided for the midfielder but Ten Hag did say it will be “weeks” before he returns, indicating a much more serious issue.
For Hojlund, Ten Hag said that it would be a close call but they will try to make him available for the Everton game. Following that fixture, his status is under no question.
Ten Hag quotes on @ManUtd website re Eriksen/Hojlund: “Christian will take a little bit longer. It will take some weeks until he will return. Rasmus Hojlund, not too bad. Everton will be a close finish but we're working on that.
Hopefully, in next week, he will return to squad."— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) November 23, 2023
The latter news will come as a huge relief to fans as Hojlund went down with an apparent strained hamstring against Luton Town which seemed serious at the time.
Eriksen was taken off before half-time in the same game to pile on Ten Hag’s nightmares.
United do have the numbers in midfield to account for Eriksen’s absence, not taking into consideration his skillset. However, the situation at the top is dire and Hojlund’s availability is a much bigger positive.
Anthony Martial has been a shadow of his former self and looks to be sleepwalking to a contract expiry at United.
Marcus Rashford in the middle has been proven to be a failed experiment and beyond those two, there’s no established forward at the club.
At worst, it could be the case that Hojlund comes off the bench against Everton if not starting the match.
Still, his mere availability, and the fact that United are not looking at going weeks without their main striker will come as huge relief to the club.
United enter an exhaustive period of fixtures now, playing almost every three days with all international breaks done and dusted till March next year.