"Fernandes was forced out of Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa with a hamstring problem, which Amorim said at the time would rule the Portugal midfielder out of Friday's visit of Newcastle (20:00 GMT). Amorim refused to put a definitive timescale on Fernandes' absence when he spoke to the media on Wednesday, although he did say the expectation was it is "not going to take a lot of time"."
"It is a huge blow at a time when key attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Kobbie Mainoo, Fernandes' obvious replacement, is also missing with a calf injury. "It is impossible to replace Bruno," said Amorim. "I said that this morning to the team. "We need to take the good thing, if there is a good thing on that - a lot of people need to step up.""
Ruben Amorim described Bruno Fernandes as impossible to replace after the midfielder suffered a hamstring problem that forced him off during the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa. The injury rules Fernandes out of the trip to Newcastle, and sources expect a return for the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on 17 January, implying a five-match absence. Key attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are at the Africa Cup of Nations and Kobbie Mainoo is sidelined with a calf injury. Fernandes has missed only three matches since joining in January 2020, making this his longest absence. Amorim highlighted Fernandes' set-piece organisation, positional understanding, and leadership, and named Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw as players who could step up.
Read at www.bbc.com
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