As if succumbing to Morgan Rogers magic in defeat to Aston Villa wasn’t enough, Manchester United were dealt another blow in the Midlands as their captain Bruno Fernandes was forced off with injury.
Matheus Cunha had briefly equalised for the Red Devils in between wonderful strikes from Rogers, with the 2–1 defeat at Villa Park compounded by a concerning setback for Fernandes.
The Portugal international, who has once again been essential to United’s success this season, only made it to the half-time whistle against the Villans, failing to come out for the second period as he was replaced by Lisandro Martínez.
Here’s the latest on Fernandes’s fitness issues.
What Injury Does Fernandes Have?
Unfortunately for Fernandes, he’s staring at a spell on the sidelines having suffered a “soft tissue” injury, according to his manager Ruben Amorim. The United boss confirmed the issue after the whistle at Villa Park, but refused to be drawn into discussions regarding the length of any potential absence.
“Bruno, we will see. I don’t know. I think it is soft tissue; he is going to lose some games. I don’t know for sure, so let’s see,” said Amorim.
“I don’t know [if Fernandes will be missing for weeks]. I don’t want to talk about it. You never control these things. It is a guy who is always fit, so he can recover quite well, but I don’t know.”
Fernandes, whose United future is in doubt after a recent surprise interview, will prove a sizeable miss in the engine room, especially considering he joins a long list of absentees at Old Trafford.
Kobbie Mainoo, perhaps the most natural replacement for Fernandes, missed the Villa game through injury and will be absent against Newcastle United on Boxing Day, although Casemiro will return from his one-match suspension against the Magpies.
Elsewhere on the pitch, Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo are all on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire are notable defensive absentees.
When Will Fernandes Return From Injury?
While Amorim was coy on Fernandes’s potential return, he did admit that his compatriot would be out for “a while.” It certainly appears that the 31-year-old will be absent for the coming matches, although exactly how many he will miss remains to be seen.
United face some key fixtures over the next month, starting with the visit from Newcastle. A run of favourable matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers (H), Leeds United (A), Burnley (A) and Brighton & Hove Albion (H)—the latter in the FA Cup third round—are followed by enormous battles with Manchester City (H) and Arsenal (A).
United will be desperate to have Fernandes back by the Manchester derby, or sooner if possible, and will be keeping their fingers tightly crossed for a speedy recovery. They will seriously struggle without their talisman.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bruno Fernandes Injury: Progress, Potential Return Date for Man Utd Captain.