Bruno Fernandes has been playing through pain for roughly three games, Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus has revealed, raising fresh concerns at Manchester United over the fitness of their captain.
Fernandes has featured in all seven of United's matches this season and his 558 minutes are the most of any player in Michael Carrick's squad. The 32-year-old was second for minutes played last season, first the season before that, third in 2023/24 and second in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Portugal boss reveals pain issue
Jesus made the decision to leave Fernandes out against Norway, with United's medical staff in contact with their Portuguese counterparts. "He said he's been dealing with that pain for about three games, and that was one of the factors that prevented him from being at his usual level against Wales," said Jesus.
Jesus' timescale of "about three games" would account for Manchester City, Brighton and Fulham. United have privately suggested Fernandes has had to fight hard to be fit for the last two Premier League fixtures, against City and Fulham.
Knock picked up in Champions League
Fernandes appears to have picked up a knock in the Champions League game against Sabah, when he was seen limping away from the stadium. He played 90 minutes in a game United led 3-0 at half-time, a decision Carrick was asked about afterwards.
"We only had five subs. We had to make certain decisions on what that looked like," the United boss said. "But yeah, of course, he's like anybody else. He has played an awful lot, but I think we're developing the group and the squad to be able to accommodate that in different ways. Tonight was just one of those things, there was decisions to be made and he ended up staying on."
United manage captain's fitness
Fernandes has stayed with the Portugal camp and is expected to be available against Denmark and Norway. Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount could be leading contenders to stand in if he is unavailable, but neither has anything like Fernandes' record.
Carrick will hope he never has to reckon with that scenario, but it is early in the season for a player to already be managing a fitness issue and opportunities for Fernandes to get a rest now look to be few and far between.
