The midfield remains a dilemma for Manchester United at Southampton this weekend. Manuel Ugarte played for Uruguay in Maturín, on Tuesday night and he will not train with his new club mates until Thursday.
United's kick-off for the second away game running south of the M25 is an unhelpful 12.30pm on Saturday. In March, Lisandro Martinez was questionably allowed to travel to Los Angeles to join the Argentina squad even though he was not fit enough to play. He returned to England, came on in the siege at Brentford and got injured again three days later.
There are two risks with Ugarte: his fitness and United's form. Their midfield is in such a state they possibly cannot do without him at St Mary's, even though Ugarte will have had a maximum of three team training sessions within two weeks.
Especially as the alternative is Casemiro, in decline and not in-demand by Saudi or Turkish clubs. Casemiro's replacement against Liverpool, Toby Collyer, has not started a professional game.
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Christian Eriksen is not a credible contender as Kobbie Mainoo has suffered alongside him in their six starts together. United won two and Ten Hag has not started the pair since the 4-0 shellacking at Crystal Palace in May.
Ten Hag failed to settle on a solution in midfield last season until he dropped Casemiro for the FA Cup final, preferring to stick with Sofyan Amrabat. Amrabat is now at Fenerbahce.
With United light in midfield and their reserves both turning 33 in February, here are some conventional and unconventional solutions for Ten Hag:
Mainoo and Ugarte
Once the Uruguayan is declared sufficiently fit, he will be Mainoo's main partner. United sources said it was always a stretch for Ugarte to figure against Liverpool (he was not signed in time to be registered anyway) as he had not played since the Copa America third-place match seven weeks earlier.
Ugarte played 79 minutes in Uruguay's goalless draw with Paraguay last week before he started against Venezuela, so he has banked some timely playing time.
Mainoo and Collyer
The academy duo are untried as starters at first team level but lined up together three times for the Under-21s in October 2022. The catch is that Collyer was in midfield and Mainoo was the No.10.
Mainoo has the ability to develop into a playmaker later in his career yet has to remain in midfield for the foreseeable. Collyer had an unenviable task in the second half against Liverpool and looked raw, while his eagerness out of possession has to be curbed if United are to settle on a compact shape that would shield the back four.
Mainoo and Casemiro
Casemiro will start again in the near future, but maybe against Barnsley and Twente. His alliance with Mainoo in January buoyed the teenager yet Casemiro now appears to have rebranded himself as an attacking midfielder and lost all sense of the defensive discipline that made him a great at Real Madrid.
Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes
Some of Fernandes's most watchable and influential performances for United have come as a deep-lying midfielder. He shone there two seasons running against Everton at home and in the Europa League home draw with Sevilla before United's fateful late collapse.
Fernandes and Mainoo is a possible back-up axis (should Ugarte and Casemiro be unavailable) that ought to be reserved for the odd home game United are certain to hog the ball in.
Mainoo and Dalot
A better and more innovative coach than Ten Hag would have sought a leftfield solution to address United's midfield malaise last season. In his first season as Bayern Munich coach, Pep Guardiola reinvented Philipp Lahm, the greatest right back of his generation, as a midfielder.
Lahm's heir at Bayern, Joshua Kimmich, made an identical transition and Manchester City full back Rico Lewis is dexterous enough to play in midfield. Diogo Dalot is the only United full back who has appeared remotely competent or at ease moving infield, with his off-the-ball runs sometimes taking him as far as the attacking apex.
With Noussair Mazraoui a right back more to Ten Hag's liking than Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dalot is a wildcard option - if Luke Shaw or Tyrell Malacia are fit.
Mainoo and Shaw
Shaw did not strike many as an obvious auxiliary centre back yet his shifts there under Ten Hag two seasons ago were a roaring success as he helped offset the absence of fellow left-footer Lisandro Martinez.
Ten Hag contradicted himself on his right-footed-left-footed preference at centre half time and again last season but that balance could be more crucial in the middle third. Shaw has not played for United since February 18 and, when available, is their clear and obvious left back.
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