Bruno Fernandes set to miss ‘several games’ after picking up injury in Aston Villa loss
The Manchester United captain was withdrawn at half-time on Sunday
Bruno Fernandes is set to miss several upcoming matches for Manchester United after sustaining a soft tissue injury in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa.
The United captain was forced off at half-time following a challenge from Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana.
The injury is a rare setback for the 31-year-old, who has missed only three matches through injury or illness since joining the club in 2020.
United head coach Ruben Amorim confirmed Fernandes is expected to be sidelined for multiple games, though the exact length of his absence remains unclear.
“I think it’s a soft tissue,” Amorim said. “I think he’s going to lose some games. I don’t know for sure, so let’s see.
“He’s a guy that is always fit, so he can recover quite well. But I don’t know.”
Amorim also expects Kobbie Mainoo to miss the Boxing Day home fixture against Newcastle.
The midfielder was absent at Villa Park with a calf injury and would have been a like-for-like replacement for Fernandes.
Casemiro will return against Newcastle after serving a one-match suspension, but United could still be without up to seven players due to injury and international duty.
“I will see what we are going to do,” Amorim said. “I think Kobbie Mainoo is out, Bruno is out.
“So we will see and we are going to find solutions. No excuses.
“We need to win the next game. We will try to win the next one.”
Amorim said the current situation mirrors a similar injury crisis faced by the club at the same stage last season and insisted it would not derail United’s longer-term planning.
“I remember in this moment last year, we had the same issue,” he said. “So when you have that experience, maybe it looks not so bad.
“It could be worse, but you have that feeling that nobody’s going to die.
“We know that we are going to suffer without all these players, but with our fans, we’ll try to arrange something to win the next game.”
The Portuguese coach also dismissed the idea that the injury list would prompt rushed decisions in the January transfer window.
“What we cannot do is reach January and try to do everything in urgency and make mistakes,” Amorim said. “And then here we go again with a lot of mistakes.
“So I’m not going to get with Jason and Omar and say we need a lot of players because we have a plan. If we have to suffer, the club comes first.
“Of course, we are in the moment that we need points, but we need to find solutions and we are going to continue with our plan.”