COMMENT: Erik ten Hag. He knows it. The higher ups do too. And he really doesn't want to be in this position again. Manchester United's manager knows in the coming week a major fault in his squad will be exposed...
Christian Eriksen's return on Saturday was celebrated. Just as Casemiro's will be next Sunday at Nottingham Forest. For Eriksen, the absence was due to an ankle injury, caused by a clattering challenge from Reading's Geordie veteran Andy Carroll. For Casemiro, it was a suspension. A four match ban, which still today has Ten Hag frustrated by the decision-making of Prem refs.
Indeed for the Dutchman there's a sense of aggrievement over both players' situations. Ten Hag hasn't needed much encouragement in recent weeks to let the world know the injustice of both enforced absences. But beyond such complaints, the real frustration for Ten Hag is what could've been. For what has become apparent with Eriksen and Casemiro sidelined is how short of quality his midfield currently is. The FA Cup and Europa League remain alive - and achievable - but hopes of sustaining a title challenge have since fallen away with two of his first-choice midfield missing. And it's something Ten Hag now realises they can no longer ignore.
Scott McTominay is a good player. Fred too. But the lift in quality and standards Casemiro and Eriksen have brought this season is something United have missed. It's class. It's experience. It's sheer top drawer ability. It's what has had Casemiro being likened to Roy Keane. And Eriksen to Paul Scholes. Players of a good generation ago - if not longer. Certainly the type of consistent midfield quality we've not seen in this post-Ferguson era.
Before the latest suspension Casemiro, rightly, had been showered with acclaim. The Brazilian forcing many to eat humble pie after those early jibes that he'd only arrived for one final payday. In Eriksen's case, who's been missing a good three months, it's easy to forget how those in the game were queuing up to lavish praise on the Dane. The guile. The intelligence. It's something no-one had seen in a United shirt for some years. And it had not gone unnoticed.
"There is an attacking player who even surprised me, and not just because of what had happened that could have been dramatic for him, and obviously it's Christian Eriksen," declared Didier Deschamps, the France coach, before the World Cup.
"But it's the ability that he shows with his club in the position he plays, because he has always been someone who has a remarkable technical ability.
"But to play so frequently for his club in the midfield, to see the volume of games he plays, this ability even to recover is impressive. And he has always had the ability to score goals, to make other players score - he has always had that."
That's just it. Everyone inside the game knew of Eriksen's ability. His potential - even at 31. But he needed the platform of Manchester United to truly have the world sit up and take notice. And before that late challenge from Carroll in January, he was beginning to do just that.
Now in April, he's back. As is Casemiro. And their manager couldn't be happier. With his system bedded in. His players attuned to his thinking. And his first-choice midfield reassembled. Ten Hag admits he's seeking this team of his to move up gear in the season's home straight.
"We discussed it with a lot of media, missing Casemiro and Eriksen was a big loss," stated Ten Hag after Saturday's defeat of Everton. "When we started the season, we wanted to bring more quality in midfield, better rotations, better quality players, players who are composed on the ball. You can find solutions, passing forward but also how they beat the pressure of the opponent. We have some midfielders who can do that now."
For "some", read two. Ten Hag knows this. It's why he has spoken at least twice in the past fortnight about the summer market and the need for United to shop at the top shelf. The stumbles suffered in the absence of Eriksen and Casemiro cannot be allowed to happen again.
"I think we knew before the start of the season," said the manager, "we need outstanding players at Manchester United, that's clear.
"If you have injuries, you need substitutes and competition, especially if you want to compete in four competitions."
Such an observation will be confirmed in the coming weeks as Eriksen and Casemiro are added to Ten Hag's midfield. But as he says, United will need more. Rotating Fred and McTominay can work. But the prospect of relying on them as frontliners over a three month period...? Well, Ten Hag now has his answer to that.
Manchester United's manager really doesn't want to find himself in such a position again. As Eriksen and Casemiro are re-introduced, the fault in this squad will be obvious. More midfield quality must be sought this summer if United are to be contenders.
