Manchester United are not bathing in Christmas bubbles as they head into the Premier League’s only Boxing Day game, against Newcastle United.
The Salford outfit will be without their star creator, Bruno Fernandes, after the Portuguese was ruled out with an injury in the loss to high-flying Aston Villa.
Later in the week he was ruled out by manager Ruben Amorim in the pre-match press conference, who said that he will need “a while” to recover.
“I think it’s soft tissue,” Amorim told Sky Sports in the corridors of Villa Park. “So, it’s going to take a while. We’ll see.”
“I don’t know at this stage [how long Fernandes will miss],” he added, “I think he will miss some games but, for the moment, that is it.
“It’s impossible to replace Bruno”
“I don’t really want to talk about these matters, because we cannot control them. He is someone who is usually fit and, when he isn’t, usually recovers well. In three weeks, we’ll have Amad [Diallo], Nous [Mazraoui], Bryan [Mbeumo] and the return of Bruno, Kobbie Mainoo,” Amorim said.
Reports recently emerged suggesting that the Portuguese would be back for the Manchester Derby on January 17, but that has not been confirmed by the club.
“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.
Manchester United sit on the border of European football in the Premier League, having won only 2 more games than they have lost (7-5-5) so far this season as Ruben Amorim once again tries to turn around the fortunes of a team struggling to reach the heights their fans demand.