Manchester United will be hoping Bruno Fernandes comes through Portugal's final Nations League game against Norway tonight unscathed, after the midfielder took on extra responsibility during the international break.
Fernandes is set to captain Portugal in Porto, having inherited the armband after Cristiano Ronaldo left the national team camp. The 32-year-old played the full game in Portugal's win in Denmark on Thursday night and is expected to have a heavy workload again in a star-studded team, even without Ronaldo.
Injury concerns and extra duties
A week ago, it looked like Fernandes was going to be carefully managed during this international window. He came off early in Portugal's first game against Wales with what head coach Jorge Jesus described as a "complicated problem", and he revealed that he had been playing through the pain barrier at Manchester United.
Fernandes picked up an injury in the Champions League win against Sabah and has had to go through late fitness tests to start the Premier League games against Manchester City and Fulham before the three-week pause for international action.
Jesus made the decision to rest Fernandes in Norway in the second of Portugal's four Nations League games, which would have gone down well at Old Trafford, but any chance of the United captain getting a little more rest went out of the window when Cristiano Ronaldo stormed out of the camp.
Captaincy and recovery
Ronaldo was an unused substitute against Norway, and after skipping training, he then left the national team, with Fernandes inheriting the captaincy. Fernandes did the pre-match press conference, where he faced questions about Ronaldo and what is clearly a sensitive issue in Portugal. Rather than getting his feet up during the break, his role has become even more demanding.
He now looks like being captain for club and country and after two assists in Copenhagen on Thursday, perhaps the armband will inspire him for Portugal as well. A win against Norway tonight would see Portugal end the break with four wins out of four and put them well on course for a spot in the Nations League finals.
Back at United, they will be crossing their fingers that Fernandes gets through the evening unscathed. His recovery to face City and Fulham took some staff at Carrington by surprise and he is clearly managing an issue. His performances in those games were below his usual standard.
Looking ahead to Tottenham
If he can get through this game, he will at least have the best part of a week before United resume their Premier League campaign against Tottenham on Saturday. With a demanding schedule and some difficult games coming up, Michael Carrick will need Fernandes fit and firing. The United boss will be desperate to see his captain get through his final game of the international break.
