Manchester United were handed a big boost this week when Christian Eriksen returned to training and fans were given further good news by Erik ten Hag on Friday.
The Reds boss revealed that the Dane will be in the squad to face Everton on Saturday lunchtime after last featuring for the club in January when he sustained his ankle injury from Andy Carroll’s challenge in United’s FA Cup win over Reading.
Speaking in his press conference, Ten Hag revealed he was angered by Carroll’s tackle but is delighted to have Eriksen back. "I was so angry about that tackle and he was away - at first we feared we had lost him for the whole season but he worked very well,” he said.
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"I think the medical department did really well… we are very pleased with that."
Meanwhile, there wasn’t such bright news regarding Luke Shaw.
The left-back was forced off 37 minutes into United’s 1-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday and Ten Hag said he would play no part in this weekend’s match. Earlier this week, the United boss said Anthony Martial did not start against either Newcastle or Brentford due to a lack of match fitness.
With just over an hour’s play under his belt since his return, the Frenchman could be handed his first start since United’s derby win over Manchester City on January 14. It would allow 28-goal Marcus Rashford to occupy his traditional left-wing slot with Antony hunting for his first Premier League goal since October on the right.
Marcel Sabitzer being pushed up as the attacking midfielder with Bruno Fernandes dropped lower seemed to work better against Brentford than when the roles were reversed in the loss to Newcastle last Sunday.
With Casemiro sitting out the final of his four-match suspension, Ten Hag could name the same midfield with Scott McTominay completing the central trio. Meanwhile, Shaw’s absence means Tyrell Malacia is set to start his third Premier League game of 2023.
First-choice central partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are likely to be given the nod again while Diogo Dalot may complete the back four in front of David de Gea for consistency’s sake, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka yet to feature since his recent bout of illness.
Dalot may not last the full game before being replaced by Wan-Bissaka at some point with Wout Weghorst likely to replace Martial - who came off in the first half in October's reverse fixture - at some stage. Fred could come on for McTominay in the second half, too.
Predicted XI: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malaica; McTominay, Fernandes, Sabitzer; Antony, Martial, Rashford.
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