Bruno Fernandes injury update after Man Utd’s defeat to Aston Villa

Ruben Amorim says he expects Bruno Fernandes to be out for a ‘while’ after Manchester United’s captain was forced off with a muscle problem in the side’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Fernandes had made headlines with his explosive criticism of United in the build-up to Sunday’s Premier League contest, but it was the midfielder’s suspected hamstring injury that dominated much of the post-match discussion.

The 31-year-old Portugal international was seen rubbing the back of his right leg and appeared in some discomfort towards the end of an absorbing first half, in which Matheus Cunha cancelled out Morgan Rogers’ stunning opener.

And while Fernandes managed to play on until the break, he did not re-emerge with the rest of his team-mates for the second period, with Lisandro Martinez sent on in his place before Rogers struck again to win for Villa.

Fernandes has enjoyed a remarkable track record with his fitness since arriving in English football back in 2020, missing just 17 of the 325 games that United have played in that time.

The concerning injury to United’s skipper and talisman comes at an especially bad time for Ruben Amorim, who is currently without eight first-team players during the club’s hectic winter schedule.

Before the clash had even kicked off, the United head coach revealed that Kobbie Mainoo could not be selected at Villa Park after he had gone down with a calf problem in training.

‘I think it’s soft tissue so it’s going to be a while. We’ll see,’ Amorim told Sky Sports when asked for an update on Fernandes’ fitness shortly after United’s loss.

‘It is really strange. During this year, especially at this time, we have so many problems, but we have to cope with that. I think [Jack] Fletcher did his first game, so that is good news, [Shea] Lacey the same, so we will try to find solutions and go for the next game.

‘I am a manager for six years and even Sporting is all about the academy, so it’s about the history. Every manager wants to bring players through from the academy and not spend money because this gives value to the manager.

‘I just want to win and want to be certain that the players that come in from the academy are not going to suffer too much. I’m just trying to help the club, it doesn’t matter if it’s from the academy or abroad.’

Though disappointed with the result, Amorim felt his side were ‘unlucky’ in big moments and ultimately deserved to win the game.

‘I think we were the better team today,’ the United head coach said.

‘We were unlucky, even with the injury of Bruno, but during the game even without him we were the better team.

‘We blocked the transitions quite well and they did really well. We did a very good job that no one is going to remember tomorrow because what matters is the result.’

The Portuguese added: ‘We already knew that Aston Villa play with everybody inside and we needed to overload that situation. We have been training like that.

‘We did different options, we can use different starting elevens depending on the game, so we are improving.

‘Again, I think we deserved so much more today but the better team did not win.

In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Diogo Dalot insisted United’s growing list of injuries could present ‘opportunities’ for some of the more peripheral members of Amorim’s squad.

On Fernandes’ injury, the United defender said: ‘It’s massive.

‘We don’t know how bad it is but for him to come off, we know how tough it is for him to come off.

‘But hopefully it’s not too bad and we have him for the next few games.

‘This is a time when opportunities come for other players.

‘It’s a time when you can step up and show why you deserve to play in the team and get more minutes.’

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