Manchester United's plans for the rest of the season have been dealt a blow after midfielder Christian Eriksen was potentially ruled out until May with an ankle injury.
The 30-year-old picked up the knock following a dreadful challenge by Andy Carroll during United's 3-1 FA Cup win against Reading on Saturday.
Eriksen has become a key player since moving to Old Trafford as a free agent in the summer, making 31 appearances in all competitions.
United said in a statement that he will be out for an “extended period” following the tackle by Carroll, who was later sent off, and that “initial assessments indicate that Eriksen is likely to be out until late April or early May”.
“Of course, he's disappointed, we are disappointed, but it happens in top football. You have to deal with it,” said Ten Hag, speaking ahead of United's League Cup semi-final second-leg against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
“We have players in the midfield department, good players and we have players who can fill the gap. I think you can never fill that gap because every player has his own characteristics, identification, another player will always fill in a different way.
“But it doesn't mean you have to be less successful. It's quite clear Christian brings top quality to our squad and he has some specifics that are hard to replace, such as his impacts in the final third with his final ball.”
United have already lost Donny van de Beek for the remainder of the campaign and the severity of Eriksen’s injury has led onlookers to wonder whether they could act before the end of transfer deadline day on Tuesday.
“On deadline day it’s difficult,” Ten Hag said. “You can’t make policy on such bad injuries, but we have players in the midfield department and good players. We have players who can fill that gap.
“But I think you can never fill that because every player has his own characteristics, identity.
Forest 0 Man United 3: player ratings
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NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Wayne Hennessey – 5 Caught unaware by Rashford’s fizzing left-footer inside the near post. Exposed again when Antony burst through, but blocked superbly. Might question his role in the second after a tame parry to Weghorst, but was unsighted for Fernandes’s clincher. Action Images -
Serge Aurier – 4 Went AWOL for Rashford’s early opener, setting the tone for a first half of positional indiscipline. Rediscovered his composure in the second half and slung in a decent cross for Scarpa which Wan-Bissaka blocked. Slipped back into bad habits in the final moments and was dispossessed on the edge of his own box. AFP -
Joe Worrall – 5 The skipper enjoyed an early let-off when Fernandes failed to punish his indecision in the box and was soon left for dead by Rashford for the game’s first goal, but he recovered with a solid performance under heavy pressure at times. AFP -
Scott McKenna – 6 Enjoyed a physical battle with Weghorst but the Dutchman was quickest to react when it counted and drilled in the killer second goal on the stroke of half-time. Bailed out his team-mates more than once with last-ditch interceptions. Getty -
Renan Lodi – 5 Match-winner at Old Trafford for Atletico Madrid in last season’s Champions League, but had an altogether harder this time around. Found compatriot Antony in lively form and struggled to contain him. Substituted 17 minutes from time. PA -
Gustavo Scarpa – 7 The debutant showed impressive wide deliveries in both open play and from set-pieces. Tested De Gea with a stinging volley from long-range and showed enough flashes of class to quickly endear himself to the City Ground faithful. PA -
Remo Freuler – 4 Failed to provide adequate cover for Rashford’s opener and didn’t seem overly comfortable with Forest’s rejigged midfield diamond. Struggled to impose himself on the game and was too often bypassed by United’s forward play. Getty -
Danilo – 6 Occupied a deep midfield role on his first Forest start and soon grew into it. Began the move for Surridge’s disallowed goal with a fine through-ball to Gibbs-White and was heavily involved in the first period. Tired after the break and made way just before the hour. PA -
Morgan Gibbs-White – 7 Forest’s liveliest creative threat. Teed up Surridge well for the striker’s disallowed goal and buzzed around Casemiro all evening. Almost halved the arrears on the hour but arrowed his left-footed effort narrowly over the bar. His departure through injury hailed the end of the hosts’ meaningful threat. PA -
Brennan Johnson – 6 Fed on scraps in the opening exchanges and shifted to a wider position to step up his involvement. Showed devastating pace to outstrip Wan-Bissaka in a first-half counter-attack, but wastefully shot at De Gea instead of squaring to Danilo. Moments later embarrassed two opponents before firing waywardly over. A calmer head could have changed the tie. Reuters -
Sam Surridge – 5 Thought he’d equalised with a well-taken finish midway through the first period, only to see the goal disallowed for offside. Otherwise battled gamely and put in a shift, enjoying more joy against Lindelof than Martinez before his departure midway through the second half. Getty -
SUBS: Jack Colback (Danilo, 58) – 5 Brought in to steady the hosts’ midfield as United threatened to put the tie to bed in the second half. Managed to do so initially, but unable to prevent Fernandes essentially ending it late on. Action Images -
Jesse Lingard (Gustavo Scarpa, 64) - 5 Needed less than 10 minutes to conjure a half-chance against his former side, but headed comfortably wide. Low-key when Forest needed some late magic. Action Images -
Emmanuel Dennis (Sam Surridge, 64) - 4 Flung on to bring raw pace and power to the Forest attack, but was let down by his control when attempting to speed away from Lindelof late on. PA -
Neco Williams (Lodi, 73) – 6 Put in an inviting cross for Lingard and drew a foul from Pellistri with a surge down the left. Lewis O’Brien (Gibbs-White, 73) – N/A Struggled to have an impact. Getty -
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea - 7 Punched a corner away on 25 and punched the Scarpa shot which followed. Forest created chances, but couldn’t put the ball past the keeper. Reuters -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 7 Tested for pace by Johnson and Forest’s counters in an end-to-end first half, but came through the test against a side who had not lost at home since September. PA -
Victor Lindelof - 7 Tough few minutes in the middle of the first half when Forest thought they had scored and then he missed a cross as Forest pressured. Blocked a 62nd minute Scarpa shot. Steadier in the second and played well. Getty -
Lisandro Martinez - 8 Convincing on a challenging night where Johnson’s pace tested the entire United defence. Beautiful ball forward on 59 towards Fernandes. Touched the ball 118 times – no other player had more than 89 touches. Blocked, intercepted, tackled. Reuters -
Tyrell Malacia - 7 Lively, tough tackling. Rewarded with a kiss on the head by his compatriot Weghorst after the second goal. Action Images -
Christian Eriksen - 6 Moved the ball through midfield beautifully. Beaten for pace by Johnson. Hit the crossbar on 53 in front of the 29,000 sell-out crowd. AFP -
Casemiro - 7 Struggled with Gibbs-White, who stopped him dictating play and beat him with quick turns. He got brushed off the ball too, which was surprising to see. Then he drove forward in the lead up to the second. Caught out again on the hour by Gibbs-White, yet he was still a significant influence. Getty -
Bruno Fernandes - 7 Put an early ball towards the Forest goal in a bright start. Gave the ball away three times in key positions in the first half. Crossed, shot wide, tussled and scored the third after 88, with fans singing ‘Wembley!’ Third goal in four games. AFP -
Antony - 7 Cut past Lodi and curled a shot wide on eight minutes. Did the same five minutes later. Almost got on the end of a fantastic move after 33, but it was a poor finish. A half volley was saved before Weghorst’s goal. Opportunities. Action Images -
Marcus Rashford - 8 Picked up the ball well inside his own half after six minutes, slalomed past three Forest players and shot past Hennessey for his 10th goal in ten matches, his best ever run of form. Off early, his job done. Scored in every round of the competition. Action Images -
Wout Weghorst - 8 Positioned himself well as a reference point. Showed for the ball, didn’t give it away all night, linked players into the game. Belting finish after 44 for his first United goal, a difficult follow up into the roof of the net. Encouraging night for the big man. PA -
SUBS: Alejandro Garnacho - 6 On for Rashford after 56. Conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area on 83. Not a huge impact. PA -
Fred - 6 Replaced Eriksen on 71. Energetic. And brought the game’s six Brazilians together for a chat at the end of a match where United are clear favourites to reach Wembley. Reuters -
Facundo Pellistri - N/A On for Antony on 71. He’d come off the bench and set up Rashford in the previous round. Beautiful cross to Weghorst on 77. Got the first booking of the game. AFP -
Elanga - NA On for Weghorst after 84 and set up the third for Fernandes. AFP
“Another player will always fill it in a different way but that doesn’t mean you have to be less successful.
“It’s quite clear that Christian Eriksen brings top quality to our squad and especially he has some specifics that are hard to replace. For instance, his impact in the final third with the final ball.”
Scott McTominay was absent for the match against Reading and injured Eriksen was replaced by substitute Fred, who produced a solid display and scored with an audacious flick.
“He’s playing together with Casemiro in the Brazilian squad,” Ten Hag said of the latter. “I would say that’s not the worst squad in the world.
“They have so many choices that they can make but they often prefer to play them together so that tells something about the quality Fred has and what he can contribute to the team.
“He did it several times. When I see his performance, for instance, against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, when he’s coming on last game he scores a goal.
“He has a lot of qualities. I think they are a really good combination, Casemiro and Fred.”
Ten Hag’s side head into Wednesday’s meeting with Forest leading 3-0 from the first leg, when Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes helped put United firmly in the driving seat for a final spot at Wembley.
They currently sit fourth in the Premier League – 11 points behind leaders Arsenal – and take on Barcelona in the Europa League knockout play-offs next month.
