When Erik ten Hag named his Manchester United squad to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final, there was one exclusion.
The season comes to a finale this weekend for Manchester United, with silverware on the line in the FA Cup final which also happens to be a Manchester Derby.
The game offers Erik ten Hag an opportunity to win a second trophy at United and one which could help paint over what has been a disappointing season.
When the team was announced all seemed normal and it saw Casemiro was named on the bench on the official team sheet, but he was absent from the team the club posted.
Fast forward to kick off and the Brazilian was absent from the squad. Here’s why.
Why Casemiro isn’t playing for Manchester United in the FA Cup final
A player of Casemiro’s experience and winning mentality not starting a cup final will always raise eyebrows.
But according to James Ducker on X, it wasn’t by choice for Ten Hag.
He explained that Casemiro was hampered by a muscle issue and felt tightness as he initially warmed up in the dressing room just before the final.
This caused United to act quickly and replace Casemiro, who was due to be on the bench anyway, with youngster Willy Kambwala getting a golden chance.
However, there have been reports to the contrary of a Casemiro injury, with ESPN reporting that the legendary midfielder is not injured, which makes this situation rather baffling.
Ten Hag chooses Sofyan Amrabat over Casemiro
Eyebrows were well and truly raised when Sofyan Amrabat was preferred to Casemiro for the final in central midfield.
The multiple-time Champions League winner lives for the big occasion and was key in United’s Carabao Cup triumph last season.
But based on the past 12 months, there’s really no argument for Casemiro to not start with United being far better and balanced with Amrabat in defensive midfield.
A strong defensive line-up for United, let’s hope it ends in glory.