On Friday, United suffered an additional setback in an already difficult season with the departure of their star midfielder.

Constantly under fire Casemiro, a star midfielder for Manchester United, will be sidelined for several weeks due to a hamstring injury, the club has confirmed to manager Erik ten Hag. Wednesday in the EFL Cup, the Brazil international was substituted at halftime in his team’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle.

The brief statement from the club provided no additional information regarding the strain that will sideline Casemiro for “a number of weeks.” Nevertheless, their declaration would indicate that the 31-year-old will not make an appearance in any of United’s three matches preceding the international break at the end of this month. Ten Hag will be hopeful that Casemiro is available for a critical stretch of matches at the end of November, including trips to Everton and Newcastle, United’s qualification for the Champions League knockout stages, and a match at Galatasaray that could decide the team’s fate.

Since his transfer from Real Madrid at the beginning of the previous campaign, Casemiro has become an indispensable component of United’s strategies. In the same way that his outstanding performance in early 2023 contributed to the Red Devils’ EFL Cup victory and a top-four finish, his perplexing recent displays have set the stage for United’s own decline. This season, the anchorman has scored four goals to lead his team in all competitions. However, he is far less effective in duels, recovers possession less frequently, and loses more tackles.

As the pressure mounts on the Dutchman, Ten Hag would almost certainly prefer to have the veteran Casemiro in his squad despite his recent lackluster performance. United, which fell 3-0 to Manchester City and Newcastle in their previous two home contests, enter Saturday’s match at Fulham eighth in the Premier League standings, eight points adrift of the top four. United could lament the indignity of having to endure the absence of a critical player during this critical phase of the season. It is not difficult for others to doubt the level of anticipation that accompanied a £70 million investment and more than 550 games remaining.

Ten Hag does have a natural alternative at the base of his midfield in Sofyan Amrabat, as opposed to the previous season. However, the Fiorentina loanee has not resembled the player who excelled at the 2022 World Cup.