Bruno Fernandes had to be replaced at half-time against Aston Villa after picking up an injury.
The United captain has been a near-ever present during his time at Old Trafford, rarely being forced to miss games through injury. But the midfielder had to be withdrawn at half-time after earlier pulling up and appearing to hold his hamstring in the first-half.
Fernandes kicked the ball out of play and clutched his leg just minutes before the break but continued until half-time, with the scores at 1-1 after Matheus Cunha cancelled out Morgan Rogers’ stunning opener.
However, Fernandes did not emerge with the rest of the team from the break, instead limping out from the tunnel wearing a coat and sitting on the bench. Lisandro Martinez was brought on as his replacement.
With Casemiro suspended and Kobbie Mainoo not involved in the squad after Ruben Amorim revealed the England midfielder suffered an injury on Saturday, Amorim’s options for who to partner Manuel Ugarte were limited.
Amorim named two academy midfielders on the bench in Jack Fletcher and Bendito Mantato, but neither have yet made their debuts and were not thrust into a tough clash at Villa Park against a Villa side aiming for a 10th straight win.
Gary Neville suggested that Joshua Zirkzee should have been the man to replace Fernandes, potentially seeing Mason Mount drop back, but Amorim went a different tactical direction.
Fernandes has missed just three games for the club through injury or illness since signing in January 2020. The extent of the issue is not yet known.
Eyebrows were raised when Mainoo was omitted from the squad after a controversial week. The 20-year-old’s older brother wore a t-shirt to the Bournemouth draw at Old Trafford with the text ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ written on it.
But speaking in his pre-match interview, Amorim said that Mainoo’s absence was down to an injury he picked up: “He [Mainoo] went to the doctor. He got something in his calf. We are going to assess but he is out of this game. He is going to be fine in the few weeks, I think, I don’t know. Let’s focus on the players that we have and are ready to play.”
When pressed on whether Mainoo would have been in the starting lineup, Amorim replied: “I prefer not to say, not just because of the player who is going to play this evening. Now it is easy to say… he knows, and that is enough.”