Ruben Amorim didn’t want to talk about it, but Diogo Dalot did. Losing Bruno Fernandes is going to be a “massive” blow to Manchester United.
Portugal full-back Dalot said he did not know the extent of the injury that forced his team-mate for club and country out of the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at half-time.
But his assessment couldn’t have been clearer.
“It’s massive,” Dalot told Sky Sports. “We don’t know how bad it is, but for him to come off, we know how tough he is.”
To put that into context, in his entire time at United, Fernandes has missed two games due to injury towards the end of 2023-24, when he was managing a knee complaint so he could play in the FA Cup final. He has also missed one match through illness.
Fernandes is United’s talisman and most creative force. Even dropping into a deeper role this season, he has five goals and seven assists. Until the game at Villa Park, there had been only four Premier League matches in which United had scored and he had failed to be involved in at least one goal.
Little wonder Amorim didn’t want to dwell on his captain’s impending absence for too long.
“I don’t want to talk about matters you can’t control,” he said.
“It’s a soft tissue, I think he’s going to lose some games, I don’t know for sure. He is a guy who is always fit, so he might recover quite well.”
However, Amorim did confirm Fernandes would miss the Boxing Day encounter with Newcastle at Old Trafford after initially pulling up towards the end of the first half, feeling his hamstring.
He continued to half-time but did not reappear for the second half, and when he eventually made his way to the visitors’ dugout, he was moving very slowly.
‘We are going to struggle’ – Amorim’s squad looking thin
The problem for Amorim is two-fold.
First, how on earth does he replace Fernandes? Secondly, how long will he be sidelined?
After the Newcastle game, United have four games in a fortnight, culminating in the FA Cup third-round tie with Brighton. Beyond that are Premier League meetings with Manchester City and Arsenal.
Amorim’s squad has barely suffered an injury so far this season. Now he is losing his most important player just as Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui begin Africa Cup of Nations campaigns that might not end until the day after the home game with Manchester City on 17 January.
In addition, experienced defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire show no immediate sign of returning from injuries that have kept them out for four and six matches respectively.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Kobbie Mainoo – whose frustration at not starting a league game this season is well known – missed the Villa trip with a calf problem, which Amorim said would “probably” rule him out of the Newcastle game.
“We must find different situations,” he added.
The one bit of good news is the return of Casemiro from a one-match ban.
Manuel Ugarte should be fit, although a statistic released at the end of the game showed United had not won any of the last nine league games in which the Uruguay midfielder has started – a record at United beaten only by Brazilian Kleberson – will not fill supporters with much confidence.
Centre-back Lisandro Martinez was Fernandes’ direct replacement against Villa and did a decent enough job. However, last month Amorim said he would only use the Argentina international in midfield as an ’emergency’ which underlines the issue.
England youth international Jack Fletcher – son of former United title winner Darren – was given his debut as a substitute but, at 18, expectations have to be tempered.
The lack of bodies will heighten demands among the club’s support for United to bolster Amorim’s squad with new arrivals in the January transfer window.
On Friday the former Sporting coach said he was not prepared to panic buy and would only go after pre-existing targets.
There is interest in Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, while former Wolves skipper Ruben Neves – thought to be seeking a move back to Europe from the Saudi Pro League next month – fits the template for the type of midfield player United need.
However, even though they have only taken 10 points from their last eight games and have dropped below Liverpool to seventh in the table, and four points above 14th spot, Amorim said he will not abandon the long-standing plan.
“What we cannot do is to reach January and try to do everything in urgency, make mistakes and then [it’s] ‘here we go again’ with a lot of mistakes,” he added.
“I’m not going to get [together] with [technical director] Jason [Wilcox] and [chief executive] Omar [Berrada] and say, ‘We need a lot of players’.
“We have a plan. If we have to suffer, the club comes first.
“Of course, we are in a moment where we need points, but we need to find solutions, and we are going to continue with our plan.
“You can feel in this moment we are going to struggle, but we will see.”
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