Ruben Amorim hints at Bruno Fernandes replacement plans

Bruno Fernandes’ injury has rocked Manchester United, as not only is he the team captain, he’s easily their most relied-upon player.

Last season, the 31-year-old scored the most goals and registered the most assists for the club with 19 each.

This year, despite dropping back into a deeper role, he’s still one of the leading goal contributors at Old Trafford.

So far, he’s the club’s second-highest scorer, with five behind Bryan Mbeumo’s seven, and has the most assists with seven.

Unfortunately for United, their natural replacement for Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, is also out injured with a calf issue.

Whilst Ruben Amorim has now commented that Mainoo will be back in action before Fernandes, he’s still at least set to miss the Newcastle United game on Boxing Day.

As such, a different approach is needed, and Amorim has hinted at how he’s looking at tackling it this weekend.

Speaking the pre-match press conference, Amorim commented: “It’s impossible to replace Bruno, but I said that this morning to the team.”

He continued: “We need to take the good thing, if there is a good thing. A lot of people need to step up.

“It’s a good opportunity for everyone to step up and understand that we cannot rely on one guy for everything.

“Sometimes we rely on him for organisation and creation. It’s a chance for other players to step up and show the leadership that we need in the team.”

In the second-half of the Aston Villa fixture, Amorim handed Jack Fletcher his United debut, and has now alluded to him being an option to cover Fernandes’ injury absence.

The Portguese manager continued discussing the cover of Fernandes, commenting: “We have other players, we need to maybe see different ways of playing.”

He the nadded: “I think Jack Fletcher did a very good job, and that’s why when we have these opportunities, we need to give space to guys like Jack and the other ones.

“We will find solutions to play.”

As such, given that Manuel Ugarte is failing to deliver at Old Trafford, with Casemiro back after his suspension, we could see Amorim rely on his academy stars over the coming weeks.