Bruno Fernandes has been named in Portugal's official squad list for this evening's Nations League clash against Denmark after missing their last game through injury. Jorge Jesus' side beat Norway 2-1 without Fernandes on Sunday, but the Manchester United captain has been included in their squad submitted to UEFA.
Injury managed after United contact
His absence from the victory in Oslo was not too surprising as it had been confirmed by Jesus after the victory over Wales that he would miss out having "played with an injury brought from Manchester United".
The understanding is that Fernandes' club and national team have been in contact this international break with United wanting to manage his fitness. That was not exactly evident by his minutes over the last few weeks, which included playing the entirety of the 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah.
Other United injury concerns
Fernandes is not the only United star to have emerged as an injury concern with Patrick Dorgu hobbling off for Denmark due to a hamstring problem and he has since returned to Carrington for tests. Noussair Mazraoui was also forced off because of an injury, which saw him replaced by Achraf Hakimi, with the severity of his apparent back issue currently unknown.
There is certainly optimism over Fernandes, though, with the update from Jesus supporting the suggestion that he is just being managed. "He really wanted to play against Wales. 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."
"He was my player, I know him perfectly. I've already spoken to him. I prefer not to risk him in this game and have him clean and in good physical condition for the Denmark game."
Return prospects and long-term absentees
Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko all pulled out of international duty last month with the latter missing the draw against Fulham entirely. After the 1-1 draw, head coach Michael Carrick said: "He just felt a little bit of pain after the game the other night [vs Brighton]. We're assessing that. Hopefully, it's not too bad, but we will have to see."
One positive for United is that Amad appears to be close to making an injury comeback having not yet featured this season because of an ankle problem. He dropped a return hint on social media earlier this week after Carrick admitted he was hopeful to have him back in training over the extended domestic pause.
Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte are the long-term absentees for United with the latter expected to miss the majority of the season while the Dutch defender has not played in 10 months.
