Ruben Amorim Hints at Bruno Fernandes Injury Return Date

The boss also revealed his plan to cope without the creative club captain.

Bruno Fernandes is out injured. / James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has admitted club captain Bruno Fernandes is expected to make his return from injury towards the end of January.

Fernandes limped off at half-time of the 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa before Christmas and Amorim did little to ease concerns, insisting the Portugal international would need “a while” on the sidelines to recover.

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He quickly underwent plenty of tests to determine the severity of the issue, and while the results of those examinations has not yet been made public, plenty of reports soon suggested the Manchester derby on Jan. 17 had already been earmarked as a potential return date for Fernandes.

Amorim declined to put a specific date on Fernandes’s recovery in his latest update but confirmed United expect the 31-year-old back in the second half of January.

“In three weeks, we’ll have Amad [Diallo], Nous [Mazraoui], Bryan [Mbeumo] and the return of Bruno, Kobbie Mainoo,” Amorim said.

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Amorim: Impossible to Replace Fernandes

United fans will get their first indication of Amorim’s plan to cope without Fernandes when the Red Devils face Newcastle United on Friday evening.

Asked for a hint about his ideas, Amorim insisted there is no quick fix to life without Fernandes as he challenged the entirety of the United squad to step up in his absence.

“It’s impossible to replace Bruno but I said that this morning to the team,” said Amorim. “I think we need to take the good thing, if there is a good thing about that, [and say] a lot of people need to step up.

“And it’s not just the creation but every set piece, Bruno is the guy that is organising the team. And that is a good opportunity for everyone to step up and to understand that we cannot rely on one player for everything.

“Sometimes we rely on Bruno in the organisation, in the creation. We have now lost Bruno in set pieces. We lost Bryan and Amad in set-pieces. This is massive for the team but it’s an opportunity for other players to step up and to show the leadership that we need in the team.”

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