Bruno Fernandes plays through pain as Manchester United handling questioned | OneFootball

Manchester United face scrutiny over their handling of Bruno Fernandes after it emerged the captain has been playing through significant pain for weeks. The 32-year-old sat out Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League win over Norway.

"The strange thing for me was that it's apparently an injury he picked up while he was at Man United, so in that case, why was he allowed to go on international duty in the first place?" he told Football Insider. "How did Man United miss the fact that he's injured? Now, if he's gone and played for Portugal and made it worse, they only have themselves to blame, and it's certainly a worry."

Reports suggest Fernandes had been managing the issue for nearly three weeks before joining up with Portugal, having only just passed fitness tests to play against Manchester City and Fulham. The decision for him to travel has been questioned as the problem appears to have worsened during the break.

Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus said he left his captain out against Norway to avoid further damage. "In the match against Wales, we went into the game with all available players, but Bruno Fernandes came off with a complicated problem." He added: "Bruno said he had been suffering from this pain for about three matches, and this was one of the factors that prevented him from being at his usual level against Wales. I prefer not to risk him in this match and to have him ready and in good physical condition for the Denmark match."

Any absence would be significant for United, with Fernandes central to Carrick’s plans and fresh from a hat-trick in the 5-2 win over Ipswich. Tottenham visit Old Trafford on October 10, and there is now a race to have the playmaker available.

Source: Goal.com

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