Erik ten Hag says he expects Christian Eriksen to be fit to return to the Manchester United side after the international break.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash with Southampton in the Premier League, Ten Hag said:
“I think he will play, definitely. The rehab is okay, It’s going according to plan. And so we will definitely we will see him, but not before the international break.”
The manager also spoke about another midfield maestro, Bruno Fernandes, who put in a man-of-the-match performance against Real Betis last night in the Europa League.
“I think he showed big personality by giving this performance and leading the team. I think he has so many skills – he scores with right, left and his head and is creating final passes.
“I’m very pleased with his captaincy, he is giving the team energy.
“He’s not only giving the best physical output of the whole team, but also he’s pointing players in directions and leading the team in tactical perspectives.
“He is coaching players. So leading the team in a tactical perspective. His emotion is his weapon, but sometimes it’s too strong and, of course, I help him, I support him, and I give him feedback.”
“He is creating final passes and I think of course, he’s very happy when he scores a goal because that’s important and then you can celebrate that, and he did together in togetherness with his fans:”
Asked if Anthony Martial could feature against Southampton this weekend, the boss said “Yeah, but I think, all the time, we had a good plan and until now it [didn’t] always [work well]. But he is on his way back, he is back in training, but we will be cautious, yeah.”
The manager was also questioned about David de Gea‘s poor distribution against Real Betis last night and seemed to blame the ball and the weather, saying:
“I don’t know what the reason was. There was a lot of wind, a different ball, and probably he had some problems with that.
“I can’t ignore it but I think we’ve seen many games where he’s done really well.
“I know he can deal with it and he will do Sunday better.”
Ten Hag also had words of praise for Wout Weghorst, who also finally got on the scoresheet against Betis, saying:
“I think he is often in the right position and then he fails, but keeps going. He showed great personality, character. I think also in this game he could already have early on his goal but he keeps focus, he keeps working, he keeps putting himself in the right positions and finally got his goal and his reward.”
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