Casemiro buried his face in his shirt and began to weep silently. Watching forlornly from the touchline, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag must have felt like doing the same.
His best midfielder was making the lonely walk towards the tunnel at Old Trafford for the second time in five weeks after picking up another red card for his challenge on Southampton’s Carlos Alcaraz.
The Brazilian is now facing the third ban of his first season at United, a four-match punishment taking the number of games he will have missed through suspension to eight.
Casemiro’s latest absence will keep him out of Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Fulham and the Premier League games against Newcastle, Brentford and Everton.