Man Utd given huge injury boost ahead of fixture mayhem without Casemiro

Manchester United have been handed a huge injury boost as Christian Eriksen shared an image online teasing his comeback, weeks earlier than first imagined.

Erik ten Hag has confirmed the Danish star would return to action before the end of the season but was hesitant to suggest the 31-year-old would be back in time to make a meaningful impact on the run-in.

The boss said: “Yes, at some point in April, he will be back. He is doing really well, really good in his rehab. The progress is very good and we have to see how that develops in the coming weeks.”

The Red Devils are still in the FA Cup and Europa League, as well as pushing for a third-place Premier League finish, meaning the matches keep coming thick and fast after the international break.

A trip to Newcastle on April 2 is followed by welcoming Brentford to Old Trafford three days later and then Everton on April 8. There are then two Europa League quarter-final meetings with Sevilla and a visit to Nottingham Forest in seven days.

United are also without the services of the ever-impressive Casemiro, who is suspended until the trip to Nottingham on April 16 after his red card against Southampton. The promising news shared by Eriksen is therefore a welcome relief for ten Hag as he manages his squad in the coming weeks.

The former Spurs star shared a trio of photos on Instagram yesterday. The first showed him in a medical boot, the second a pair of trainers and the third his football boots as he hinted at a return to training on the pitch.

Eriksen has been recovering from an ankle injury sustained in the FA Cup clash with Reading when giant striker Andy Carroll crunched into the midfielder - The Royals' man wasn't booked for the challenge but was later sent off in that fixture after picking up two yellow cards in a frenzied performance.

Ten Hag slammed the referee's management of Carroll's feisty tackles in that match after Eriksen was injured.

He said: "I’m disappointed about that. I think football has to set limits, restrictions, that protect the players.

“What football wants is the best players to be available on the pitch. That is a tackle - and the two tackles after it – that don’t belong on a pitch, because there is a high risk of injuring your colleague. So it’s worse and I’m left wondering about that.”