Christian Eriksen injury: Dane set to miss crucial period of Man United games

The last thing Erik ten Hag needed was a key injury but Christian Eriksen is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

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Since signing on a free transfer after spending the second half of last season at Brentford, Eriksen has formed a brilliant partnership with Casemiro in United's midfield.

He has made 31 appearances across all competitions, scored two goals and provided nine assists.

His all-round creative displays have been excellent and had only missed one game up until the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest.

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But after suffering an ankle injury from a reckless Andy Carroll tackle, just how long will he be out for?

How long will Eriksen be out for?

After leaving Old Trafford on crutches, the former Tottenham man went for a scan to assess the damage and an official statement soon followed.

And in it, United confirmed that Eriksen would be out until 'late April or early May'.

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However, the statement also confirmed this time frame was just an 'initial assessment', which suggests he could be out longer.

But one thing we know for sure is that he won't be playing for the Red Devils any time soon.

Eriksen will definitely miss both legs of the Europa League tie against Barcelona and the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.

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If United's initial timescale is correct, the 30-year-old would also be absent for most of the season and miss league games against Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea and Tottenham.

It also possible Eriksen would miss the FA Cup semi-finals and Europa League quarter-finals, should the Red Devils progress that far.

Hopefully, for his sake, the initial assessment is wrong and he can return quicker, but that looks unlikely.

And the tackle by Carroll that led to this injury incensed Ten Hag.

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Speaking before the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Forest, he said: "He's disappointed and we're disappointed, but it happens in top football. You have to deal with it.

"I think football has to set limits, restrictions, that you protect the players.

"I think what football wants is the best players being available on the pitch.

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"This tackle and the two tackles after… they don't belong on the football pitch because it's a high risk to injure your colleague, so I think it's worse. So, I am wondering about that.

But Danny Murphy told talkSPORT that Ten Hag was 'whinging' and he needs to get on with it.

He said: "It sounds like he's just whinging, whining. You're in the Premier League!

"Andy Carroll got sent off, by the way, but for a different challenge, he should have got sent off for that one.

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"But the point is, let's give this perspective, we are in a world now where creative attacking players are protected more than ever, more than ever!

"Very rarely do we see bad injuries from bad tackles, very rare, not many, and I think we're in a good place because of that. I'm not saying we should go back to the old days where players can knock seven bells out of each other.

"I just don't see why you would come out and whinge about it when it's just a consequence of playing football."