Erik ten Hag explains Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford’s absences from Man Utd XI

Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Manchester United ‘s preparations for their Premier League clash with Newcastle on Sunday were disrupted by illness.

Christian Eriksen dropped out of the squad altogether, while Marcus Rashford was only fit enough to make the bench. Both players featured during Thursday’s nervy 1-0 victory over Omonia Nicosia, as the Red Devils boosted their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League knockout phase thanks to Scott McTominay ‘s 93rd-minute winner.

But like the suspended McTominay, Eriksen wasn’t involved in Sunday’s domestic match, as Casemiro and Fred started in midfield. Rashford managed to make the squad but Jadon Sancho got the nod ahead of him to start on the left flank, while Cristiano Ronaldo kept his place up front as Anthony Martial remains sidelined

Explaining United’s lineup, Ten Hag told MUTV : “Some are sick [like Eriksen]. Marcus Rashford isn’t feeling perfectly well, but he has enough energy to play for a few minutes. Martial? We can talk about the players who aren’t there, but we have a group. We’ve seen in the last games how important they are. We have to trust that we can beat a tough opponent .”

Meanwhile, 17-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has been named on the bench for the first time, having impressed in the academy this season – like playing 45 minutes minutes in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Chelsea’s under-21s only yesterday. And there’s a humungous milestone in the starting XI, as David de Gea becomes only the 11th player to make 500 career appearances for the Red Devils.

“It is fantastic. If you perform in 500 games for a club like Manchester United, that tells a lot about you,” Ten Hag told manutd.com of his goalkeeper. “The talent, the personality – so that achievement is huge and I really reward that, I value that, and I want to congratulate him [for] that.”

Rashford was fit enough to make the bench for Ten Hag’s side Eriksen missed Man Utd’s clash with Newcastle through illness

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United are looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League after last Sunday’s 2-1 win at Everton. Ten Hag wants to see his side bring the right mentality to the Newcastle clash, adding to club media: “Now bigger games are coming up, you have to be concentrated.

“In possession, I talk about principles, so there is freedom. But in defending, there is rules – there is no ifs and buts, you have to be 100% concentrated and disciplined to fulfil those rules. If you are not, you get punished. We want to avoid that.’ Not only about the defence, it’s about defending with 11 players.

“We need the right organisation, we need the intensity, and we need the right mentality to fight for each other and everyone has to take the responsibility to do the positioning well, anticipating well – especially also in battles, you have to go for it, you have to win them.”