Manchester United booked their ticket to the FA Cup final after beating Brighton on penalties last Sunday. However, that crucial victory at Wembley came at a cost as another key player picked up an injury.
That man was Bruno Fernandes, one of the most creative and deadliest midfielders in the Premier League. The Portuguese ace played a key role in that FA Cup semifinal tie but unfortunately injured his ankle along the way.
According to Erik ten Hag, this issue occurred in the first half but the former Sporting CP star played through the pain until the 101st minute when he was subbed off for Wout Weghorst. Even when that game headed to penalties, Bruno was still active and was seen passionately giving his teammates words of encouragement.
However, the 28-year-old could miss Thursday's tricky clash with Tottenham. Speaking ahead of the trip to North London, Ten Hag revealed that his vice-captain could watch this top-four fixture from the sidelines, making him the latest worrisome injury.
"There are some unavailable — (Lisandro) Martinez, (Raphael) Varane. We have to see how Bruno Fernandes is, we don't know yet," the Dutch manager said, as per the Athletic.
"He is a question mark. But I think for the rest, we are quite OK.
"It's more often that players, we protect them, prevention but it has to settle down. We have seen he played a full game and it happened in the first half. But tomorrow is quick, we have to see what is possible."
As reiterated by the manager, Manchester United are already without their main center-back pairing after both Lisandro and Raphael picked up injuries in the 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has just returned from the sidelines and appeared to have issues during the FA Cup clash with Brighton, though he is available for the midweek game.
The Red Devils are currently fourth in the Premier League and while the club could end the season with only the Carabao Cup title to their name, there is still a lot to fight for, the first being the top-four race.
Rashford and Co. are five points ahead of fifth-placed Aston Villa and six ahead of sixth-placed Tottenham, their opponents this Thursday. Additionally, the English giants have played fewer games than the aforementioned clubs.
Nonetheless, Ten Hag cannot afford to lose this tie as it could put their top-four hopes in danger. A win in North London, on the other hand, should eliminate Spurs from the conversation.
