Erik ten Hag has disclosed that he replaced youthful sensation Kobbie Mainoo at halftime because of worries about his workload before to Nottingham Forest’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United on Saturday night.

Mainoo, 18, made an impression during the preseason before suffering an injury, but he has subsequently made six Premier League starts.

The Red Devils lost control of the game in the second half, and the center midfielder was substituted by Scott McTominay. Nicolas Dominguez’s first goal was equalized by Marcus Rashford, but Morgan Gibbs-White’s 82nd-minute goal condemned Manchester United to their ninth Premier League loss of the year.

Mainoo in particular found it difficult to deal with Gibbs-White’s attention to him; the child was pressed and harassed so loudly that he stopped participating at the intermission.

When asked if Mainoo’s absence was an imposed alteration, Ten Hag said, “No, but it’s challenging because he played three games in a succession this week.

We added some fresh energy since I felt it was a little bit lower than it was for the other two games this week. I have no regrets.

“I felt that Scott added a lot of energy, and our side performed much better in the second half. If you do a thorough analysis, the initial aim was reduced in size. Not related to that central midfield.

“We had enough players for the second goal, which was a counterattack after a misunderstanding. In the first half, there were also a few instances where Forest ran away. Although it’s a nice play, we ought to have monitored that.

United is currently eighth in the Premier League as a result of having lost three of their previous four away league games. When they play Tottenham little under a week after visiting Wigan in the FA Cup third round on January 8, they’ll be hoping for a simpler trip.