Bruno Fernandes arrived at Manchester United's Carrington training ground on Monday for treatment while his team-mates enjoyed a day off after the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth. The captain's appearance came as crisis talks took place over manager Michael Carrick's future.
Pressure mounts after Bournemouth defeat
United's season worsened on Sunday. Heading into the match against Bournemouth, they had only one Premier League win and had just lost 4-1 to Como in the Champions League.
Fernandes was unhappy with the tactical performance against Como and spoke about his manager in a post-match interview. He was dropped to the bench for the Bournemouth game and was not brought on, with Carrick describing it as a pure footballing decision.
Without Fernandes, United lost 3-0 at Old Trafford. Boos rang out at full-time and chants were aimed at the owners. Carrick now faces significant pressure over his job.
Talks and treatment at Carrington
On Monday, crisis talks took place between the club's top brass at Carrington, with conference calls reportedly staged with minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co-chairmen Avram and Joel Glazer. Fernandes was in the building, as was Carrick.
According to the Daily Mail, Fernandes was at the training ground for pre-planned treatment. Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte, all sidelined, joined him.
Less than 24 hours after being dropped, Fernandes' social media activity hinted at discontent. His Instagram account liked a post with the caption: "Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer care."
Carrick's response and next steps
Carrick said after the match: "He's fit and available, but we decided to pick the team that we did today. Unfortunately for everyone, we didn't manage to get the right result."
The manager arrived at Carrington on Monday afternoon to watch the Under-21s against Hull City as talks continued. It is unknown if he spoke with chief executive Omar Berrada or director of football Jason Wilcox. He was also present early on Tuesday morning as players reported back.
When asked if he expects to be sacked, Carrick said: "I totally understand the situation. I'm not expecting anything in particular, to be honest. I'm carrying on as normal. I love this place and I'll always do what I feel is going to be best for the football club, whatever decision is made on anything, really. That's kind of it, I'm not expecting either way."
He added: "I take the responsibility, of course. I've said that and I accept the responsibility, whatever's going to happen results-wise, whether we win, lose, or draw. I'm in this position because I respect the position that I'm in and the responsibility is mine. What else can I say?"
It is not yet clear whether Carrick will keep his job.
