Michael Carrick addresses Bruno Fernandes fitness concerns ahead of Manchester derby
· Yahoo Sports
Michael Carrick insists he will give Bruno Fernandes a rest this season, despite the Manchester United captain completing his fourth consecutive 90 minutes of the campaign in Thursday's 4-0 victory against Sabah.
Fernandes found the net in United's UEFA Champions League opener, contributing to his side's comfortable 3-0 halftime advantage, and with Sunday's Manchester derby in mind, Carrick started making substitutions at the break.
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Despite utilizing all five changes, he chose to rest Youri Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo, Benjamin Šeško, Bryan Mbeumo, and Patrick Dorgu, keeping the 32-year-old Fernandes on the field as his playing time continues to accumulate.
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The logic behind that decision could be questioned after Fernandes was spotted limping away from Old Trafford following the match. He absorbed several heavy challenges during the second half, including a blow to the hip and another late tackle that left him on the ground.
With only three days separating the victory against Sabah and the season's first derby, Fernandes has minimal recovery time before attempting to feature against Enzo Maresca's unbeaten side.
Carrick addressed the media before his captain was observed limping, but he did clarify why he didn't substitute him despite the dominant position his team held.
"We only had five subs! We had to make certain decisions on what that looked like," said Carrick, via the Manchester Evening News. "But, of course, he's like anybody else. He has played an awful lot, but I think we're developing the group and the squad to be able to accommodate that in different ways.
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"Tonight was just one of those things, there were decisions to be made and he ended up staying on."
Fernandes has featured in every minute of Carrick's 21 matches in charge since January and has been absent for only 10 of the 244 Premier League games United have played since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
Luke Shaw was unavailable for the victory against Sabah after missing training on Wednesday and will be assessed over the coming days before a determination is made regarding his availability for the derby.
"We'll have to see," said Carrick. "We just kind of looked after him a little bit going into tonight. He wasn't quite ready for it 100%, so we didn't risk it. We'll see how he is over the next couple of days or so."