Erik ten Hag has accused Nottingham Forest's players of 'targeting' his Manchester United star during their FA Cup clash.
United beat Forest 1-0 in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night, with Casemiro scoring an 89th minute winner at the City Ground.
Erik ten Hag's side now face a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford next month.
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Bruno Fernandes provided the cross for Casemiro's match-winning header, his 15th goal contribution of the season.
While the United captain hasn't been at his best recently, supporters were alarmed by footage that showed the midfielder limping after the game.
Now, United boss Ten Hag has accused Forest's players of targeting the star.
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"You saw that Forest were targeting him... so I don't tell what [injury] he has," Ten Hag said during his post-match press conference.
"But it was a serious injury, and then when I see serious media [criticism], they criticise him, and also on social media - that is pathetic.
"It can't be [like that]. He has a serious injury, but he continued to play on Saturday and now he fought to be part of this game, he has a very high pain threshold."
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Fernandes was a doubt for the game with a knock but played the full 90 minutes.
The 29-year-old joined United from Sporting Lisbon in 2020, but remarkably he's still never missed a game for Man United through injury.
Ten Hag will be sweating on the fitness of his captain as United prepare for a daunting trip to neighbours Manchester City on Sunday.
United, 15 points behind City in the Premier League table, are already without the likes of Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and Rasmus Hojlund for the game at the Etihad Stadium, while Harry Maguire is a doubt after missing the trip to Nottingham.
Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Bruno Fernandes, FA Cup, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Manchester City
Alex Brotherton