Bruno Fernandes was spotted limping out of the City Ground on Wednesday night to hand Erik ten Hag a major worry ahead of this weekend’s Manchester Derby.
Fernandes played all 90 minutes as he inspired Manchester United to a win over Nottingham Forest in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The midfielder whipped in the free-kick that saw Casemiro head in a last-minute winner for the Red Devils.
The goal was enough to send United through to the quarter-finals, where they will face Liverpool. Before that game though, Ten Hag’s side face huge clashes against Manchester City and Everton.
They travel to City on Sunday for the second Manchester Derby of the season, having lost the reverse fixture at Old Trafford 3-0. Heading into the clash with the title challengers, Ten Hag is sweating on the fitness of his captain.
Watch the Premier League title race with the best Sky Sports deals
Fuming Morgan Gibbs-White uses Liverpool example to ‘prove’ Man Utd goal shouldn’t have stood
Mirror Football reporters spotted the Portuguese international limping out of the stadium following the win over Forest. Ten Hag admitted afterward that the midfielder had battled through injury to play against Forest.
“We have serious problems. I was very happy Rapha [Varane] fought to play this game and also Bruno. He had a very bad injury as well. He fought to be part of this game,” the United boss said.
“I’m very pleased for him, how important he is and to have an assist on the goal of Casemiro. I don’t go into that [if Fernandes nees a painkilling injection] because also you saw Forest were targeting him.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who was man of the match as Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest? Comment below.
(
REX/Shutterstock)
“So I don’t go to tell what it was but it was a serious injury. When you see that maybe they criticise him on social media, it’s pathetic. It can’t be. He has a serious injury, he continued to play on Saturday.
“Now also he fought to be part of this game. He has a very high pain threshold. Last year, he also did something similar. He showed his leadership, expresses his character and it’s very good when you are a leader.”
Fernandes has missed just two games in all competitions this season, playing all 90 minutes of every other match outside of that. If he recovers he will certainly feature against City, Everton and Liverpool, with Ten Hag relieved his side made it through to the quarters.
“It’s the best time to score at the end. We scored in the right moment. In the second half after five or six minutes we found the game. Then we were continually in their half and took control of the game,” he told BBC Sport.
“We had chances but we allowed them to create some chances. We should avoid that. Every win is important. We take it 24 hours and then we move on. [We have] fantastic games coming up. This team, what they showed today, that’s great.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.