Casemiro, Manchester United’s midfield enforcer, was among numerous people gathering inside the Old Trafford tunnel to cheer the players before Manchester United’s match against Aston Villa took off at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

Casemiro is still out with an injury.

The Brazilian international, who has been extensively linked with a move away from Old Trafford ahead of next month’s transfer window, is still out while he recovers from a hamstring injury. He has not played since being forced off in Newcastle United’s 3-0 defeat on November 1.

Casemiro returned to Carrington training earlier this month and was photographed back on the grass, giving hope that a return is not too far away. Last month, manager Erik ten Hag stated that he did not expect him to play again until after Christmas.

Though he was not at the prime of his abilities previous to his injury, and his performance levels are not as high as they were last season, his toughness in the engine room, as well as his experience, has been missed. He has only appeared 12 times this season.

Though it is unclear when he will be able to add to that total, he was in attendance at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, spotted inside the tunnel prior to kick-off. As the players prepared to emerge from the tunnel, he stood at the rear of the tunnel with different matchday officials and United staff members, beautifully supporting his teammates.

Harry Maguire and Amad, two other absentees, were also in attendance, watching the game from the directors’ box. Maguire has missed the last three games due to a minor injury, while Amad has not played this season due to a knee ailment.

According to the Manchester Evening News, United are willing to trade five players in the January transfer window, one of them is Casemiro. He will join United from Real Madrid in August 2022 for a cost of £60 million.