BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes could be out for “a while” after pulling up with an injury against Aston Villa on Sunday.
United coach Ruben Amorim said Fernandes had sustained a soft tissue injury in the first half of the Premier League game at Villa Park. Villa won 2-1.
“I think it’s soft tissues, so it’s going to take a while. We’ll see,” Amorim told Sky Sports.
Fernandes appeared to hurt his hamstring when pulling up.
He played on until the break but was replaced by Lisandro Martinez for the start of the second half.
Fernandes was then seen walking uncomfortably along the sideline as he made his way to the bench for the second half.
“I think he is going to lose some games, but I don’t know for sure,” Amorim said in his post-match news conference. “I don’t want to talk about the matter, it is a guy who is always fit and he has shown he can always recover.”
United is already without Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui, who are playing in the Africa Cup of Nations. Amorim’s options were further depleted on Sunday, with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo ruled out with a calf injury picked up in training.
“During this year, especially in this time, we have so many problems, but we have to cope with that,” Amorim said.
Mainoo would have been the obvious replacement for Fernandes.
Even before Fernandes’ injury, Amorim said Mainoo’s absence was bad timing.
“He is going to be fine in a few weeks, I think, I don’t know,” Amorim said. “Let’s focus on the players that we have and are ready to play.”
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