Bruno Fernandes is pushing to return but Ruben Amorim says the injured Manchester United captain has ‘no chance’ of playing against Wolves.
Fernandes, one of United’s most important players, is struggling with a hamstring injury and missed the 1-0 Boxing Day win over Newcastle.
The Portuguese star is desperate to make a swift comeback with the Red Devils back in Premier League action against Wolves on Tuesday night.
But Amorim says he will take no risks over Fernandes, who has scored five goals and registered seven assists in 17 top-flight games so far this term.
‘Bruno was already saying that he needs to train, but we don’t know,’ United head coach Amorim said in his pre-match press conference.
‘No chance he is going to play against Wolves. No chance. You can write that.’
Amorim has joked that Fernandes might be after his job with the 31-year-old midfielder’s leadership extending to watching his teammates train.
‘He cannot be that guy that [when he] is not playing, he’s not talking and speaking,’ Amorim added.
‘He’s always speaking. That’s why he’s the captain. He has bad things sometimes, the way moves his arms, but he has a lot of good things.
‘Every time he makes recovery from the [previous] game, he is the guy that is going to watch the other guys training in that day, so there is a lot of things that you guys don’t see that he does. He’s a great leader.’
Quizzed if that continued while he has been injured, Amorim said: ‘Yeah, all the time.
‘He’s the guy that is watching the training. Even after treatment, he’s going there.
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‘I don’t know if he wants my job or not, but he’s a leader. The guy is a leader.’
Amorim is also sweating on the fitness of fellow United midfielder Mason Mount against Wolves after he limped off in the win over Newcastle.
Kobbie Mainoo won’t be fit to face Wolves either while United centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire are absent too.
‘I don’t know how Mase is going to be for that game,’ Amorim said.
‘I think Kobbie Mainoo is not going to be ready. Bruno is not going to be ready.
‘I think Matt is not going to be ready. Harry is not going to be ready. So, I think we are not going to have more players.’