Ruben Amorim has provided a worrying update on Bruno Fernandes after the Manchester United captain was sent off against Aston Villa on Sunday. The midfielder was injured near the end of the first half and was substituted. United suffered a narrow defeat with Morgan Rodgers scoring twice either side of Matheus Cunha’s equalizer.
As a result, the Red Devils missed out on finishing in the Premier League’s top five over the Christmas period. To make matters worse, it looks like Fernandes will miss an unspecified number of games. Asked for an update in a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Amorim admitted the Portuguese playmaker is expected to be out for “a while”.
He said, “I think it’s soft tissue, so it’s going to take some time. We’ll see.” As always, United Airlines will have to wait for the results of the scan to determine the full scope of the issue.
Regarding injuries in general, Amorim added: “It’s really strange. We have so many problems this year, especially at this time of year, and we have to deal with them.”
Despite the result, United’s manager was relatively happy with his team’s performance, claiming that his team was stronger for the majority of the match.
“I think we were the better team today,” he said. “We were unlucky with Bruno’s injury, but even without him we were the better team during the game.
“We blocked the transition very well and they did a really good job. They did a very good job that no one will remember tomorrow because what matters is the result.”
“We already know that Aston Villa will play with everyone inside and we need to load up on that situation. We’ve been training like that.
“We are improving because we can choose different options and use different starting elevens depending on the match. Again, I think we deserved more today, but the better team could not have won.”
Academy graduates Jack Fletcher and Shay Lacey, son of United legend Darren, were introduced from the bench in the final stages of the game.
“I think Fletcher has played his first game, so that’s good news. So is Lacey. So we’ll find a solution and move on to the next game,” Amorim explained.
“I’ve been a manager for six years and even at Sporting it’s all about the academy so history is important because every manager wants to take players out of the academy and spending money doesn’t add value to the manager.
“I just want to win and I want to make sure that the players who come from the academy don’t suffer too much. I’m just trying to help the club. It doesn’t matter if they come from the academy or abroad.”
