Casemiro has inadvertently helped Erik ten Hag make his point to Manchester United board

You would have had to search for a while to find out who the last player was to have been sent off in back-to-back Premier League home games.

But after being dismissed in the first half of Manchester United's goalless draw with Southampton at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, Casemiro has made that task a little easier. Making just his second league appearance since returning from a three-match suspension he was slapped with last month, the Brazilian now faces a four-match ban after picking up his second red card of the season.

Although he will be available for Thursday night's Europa League clash with Real Betis, he will miss Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final clash with Fulham and the Reds' next three Premier League matches. It means he will not play again in a domestic fixture until United travel to Nottingham Forest on April 15.

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With Christian Eriksen already sidelined until late April at the earliest with an ankle problem, the last thing United could have wished for was to lose their talismanic Brazilian for the second time so soon. Though United collected seven points from a possible nine in the three games he missed during his last absence, his presence was missed, with them lacking control and cohesion in midfield.

But as this writer wrote only last week, it is Eriksen who United have missed the most in recent weeks. Even though results, with the exception of the 7-0 defeat to Liverpool just over a week ago, have been relatively positive in the Dane's absence, they have missed his ability to orchestrate games and dictate proceedings.

Though his absence has been felt by United, they at least had Casemiro available to keep one-half of