Bruno Fernandes' red card against Spurs was overturned in the interest of Erik ten Hag | Manchester United

Erik ten Hag has received a welcome boost after Bruno Fernandes' red card in Manchester United's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday was ruled an unlawful dismissal by the Football Association. This means the captain's three-game ban has been lifted.

With United in 13th place after the weekend's humiliation and Ten Hag's job hanging in the balance due to United's poor start to the season, Fernandes would have missed Sunday's game at Aston Villa as well as games against Brentford and West Ham. He can now feature in all of those games after United decided to appeal against referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to send off the midfielder just before half-time at Old Trafford for his seemingly reckless foul on James Maddison, as the The hosts were 0-1 behind. Replays clearly showed that Fernandes had made a mistake in trying to take out Maddison and that this had a significant impact on his subsequent tackle, which was also little more than a slight clip, making it somewhat baffling that the VAR made the decision not lifted at this point.

“Bruno Fernandes will be available for Manchester United's next three games after the claim for wrongful dismissal was successful,” United said in a statement. “The midfielder was sent off for a serious foul during the Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 29 September. Fernandes should have missed our league games against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham but is now available for selection following a successful appeal.”

Sunday's visit to Villa could prove crucial to Ten Hag's long-term future at United. The Dutchman, who has come under fire, realistically needs to conjure up a win against Unai Emery's fifth-place team and in Thursday's Europa League game against Porto in order to remain in his position after the subsequent international break.