Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen is set to be out at least until the end of April after injuring his ankle in his side’s FA Cup win over Reading on Saturday.
United manager Erik ten Hag believes the club have the “players who can fill the void” caused by Eriksen’s absence.
“The day of the deadline, it’s difficult [to bring in a replacement]. You can’t make politics about such serious injuries,” he said.
“But we have players in midfield and good players.”
The Danish midfielder has made 31 appearances for United this season.
The former Ajax, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Brentford player signed a three-year contract at Old Trafford in the summer.
“[He] expected to be out for a long time,” the club said in a statement.
“There is hope that Christian can return in time to play a part in the closing stages of the season.
“While investigations continue, early assessments indicate that Eriksen will likely be out until late April or early May.”
United are already missing midfielder Donny van de Beek who was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury in January.
In his press conference ahead of United’s EFL Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, Ten Hag added: “Of course he’s disappointed with it, we’re disappointed with it.
“I wish that hadn’t happened. It’s clear that Christian brings the best quality to our team and he has specifics that are difficult to replace.”
On Fred playing Eriksen, Ten Hag said: “He plays with Casemiro in the Brazil team.
“You see against Tottenham and Manchester City he has a lot of quality and it’s a good combination.”
