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Injured duo Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez are not expected to return to action for Manchester United before Christmas, Erik ten Hag has confirmed.
Casemiro sustained a hamstring injury in the 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat by Newcastle last week while Martinez is recovering from surgery on a recurring foot problem. The news means they could miss up to 10 games in all competitions.
The Brazil and Argentina internationals were already on United’s long-term injury list along with Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw and Amad Diallo – while Jadon Sancho remains unavailable due to disciplinary reasons.
Lisandro Martinez is another long-term absentee for Manchester United
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League trip to FC Copenhagen, Ten Hag said of his injured players: “I have some time schedules, but it’s always difficult to expect that because they can have setbacks during rehab periods.
“Casemiro and Martinez are really strong injuries, I don’t expect them back before Christmas.”
Ten Hag: Rashford ‘100 per cent’ ready
However, there was good news over the fitness of Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire ahead of the Group A match at Parken Stadium, with Ten Hag revealing both players are ready to feature.
Rashford missed Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League at Fulham due to a “small knock” while Maguire, who played the full 90 minutes in that game, suffered a blow to the head and went through concussion protocols.
“Marcus is 100 per cent ready,” Ten Hag said.
“Harry did all the protocols during the game and after the game. He is ready to play.”
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Marcus Rashford returned to Manchester United training on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Copenhagen
United will hope the pair’s return can help continue their revival after making hard work of beating Copenhagen on home soil, having lost their Group A openers against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
“They played a very decent game and I thought we didn’t play a good game,” Ten Hag added.
“But, still, we won. I think it was a deserved win but we have to do things better.
“We are aware of that because you have to lift the performance if you want to get the result in.”
United’s struggle for consistency this season has not been helped by injuries to several first-team regulars but Ten Hag is confident results will improve once they return to the fold.
“So far, we’ve had to change a lot,” he said. “The midfield balance is also not there. I’m sure once we get there, we’ll play better.”
Manchester United are targeting back-to-back wins over Copenhagen in the Champions League
Man Utd’s remaining Champions League fixtures
November 8: FC Copenhagen (A) – kick-off 8pm
November 29: Galatasaray (A) – kick-off 5.45pm
December 12: Bayern Munich (H) – kick-off 8pm
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