Manchester United manager Michael Carrick confirms that Bruno Fernandes had picked up a knock recently.
The Portuguese was the recipient of the Premier League Player of the Year Award for his exploits last season. The 32-year-old set a new league record by producing 21 assists in one campaign.
But aside from scoring a hat-trick against Ipswich Town, the midfielder has been far from his best since the start of the new campaign.
Michael Carrick reveals Bruno Fernandes injury issue
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
During the extended international break, Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus claimed that Fernandes joined his camp carrying an injury. Therefore, he decided to manage his playing time.
Despite his condition, the playmaker was able to put on good performances for his national team. But on his return to Manchester, he had another forgettable display in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Tottenham.
Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid, Carrick confirmed Bruno’s physical struggles. Nevertheless, the 45-year-old tried to downplay the whole issue, insisting that his captain is fit enough to play.
“He was carrying something… people don’t maybe realise it, but it happens a lot – players play with issues,” said the United boss in his pre-match press conference in Madrid.
“I probably played 80% of my games with some sort of issue. It’s not ideal but it’s kind of manageable.”
Previous reports claimed Fernandes sustained this problem during the previous Champions League against Sabah.
The MUFC captain was on the receiving end of rash tackles from his opponents, who struggled to contain him.
Should Carrick consider resting Fernandes?
(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Carrick, he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. While there have been all sorts of speculations regarding his future, all sources would agree that the Wellsend native is in dire need of positive results.
Hence, this isn’t the ideal time to drop the club’s most influential player over the past six years.
That being said, if Bruno isn’t capable of playing to his usual standards, he won’t be able to decide matches as he used to, and this is what we’ve been witnessing in recent games.
So perhaps the best solution for Carrick is to take a page out of Jorge Jesus’ book by carefully managing the captain’s playing time, or even using him as an impact substitute in the last 30 minutes on some occasions.
United have a ready-made replacement in Mason Mount, at least when he’s fit, and he certainly needs to be added to the squad rotation amid the gruelling schedule.
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