We compare Man Utd’s stats with and without their captain as he faces spell on sidelines

Ruben Amorim has revealed the injury that forced Bruno Fernandes to be substituted at half-time of Manchester United‘s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa is “going to take a while.”

After the match, Amorim explained the problem that left him with no option but to replace the United captain at Villa Park.

“I think it’s soft tissue,” Amorim told Sky Sports. “So, it’s going to take a while. We’ll see.

“It is really strange. During this year, especially at this time, we have so many problems, but we have to cope with that.”

Later on during his post-match press conference, Amorim added: “I think he is going to lose some games, but I don’t know for sure.

“I don’t want to talk about the matter. It is a guy who is always fit and he has shown he can always recover.”

A possible replacement for Fernandes, England international Kobbie Mainoo, missed the defeat to Villa, and Amorim revealed after the match that he is also set for a spell on the sidelines due to a calf injury picked up in training. 

But fellow midfielder Casemiro will be available again after serving a one-match suspension.

How may Fernandes’ absence affect Man Utd?

The stats suggest, as you’d expect, that Man Utd will sorely miss their talisman should he be ruled out of the upcoming matches, with a clear decline in the Red Devils’ win percentage without the Portuguese star.

When Fernandes has featured, the club have won 48.1 per cent of their Premier League matches, but that figure falls to 33.3 per cent in the nine matches that he has not featured in.

United’s attacking input also goes down in Fernandes’ absence. Their goals-per-match average falls from 1.6 when he features to 1.3 when he doesn’t, while their shots-per-match average also decreases from 14.5 to 10.7. 

On what was his 292nd start for Man Utd, Fernandes was substituted at half-time of a match for just the third time – previously against Tottenham Hotspur in October 2020 (Premier League) and Real Sociedad in February 2021 (Europa League).

Meanwhile, since his debut for the club on 1 February 2020, he is the only Premier League player to have played 300+ competitive games at club level (308), and has missed just 17 of United’s 325 matches in all competitions.

Man Utd with/without Fernandes in PL

With Fernandes
 
Without Fernandes

212
Matches
9

102
Wins
3

51
Draws
1

59
Losses
5

338
Goals for
12

1.6
Ave. goals for
1.3

273
Goals against
18

1.3
Ave. goals against
2.0

48.1%
Win %
33.3%

1.7
Points/90
1.1

1.6
Expected Goals/90
1.1

14.5
Shots/90
10.7

5.3
Shots on target/90
3.3

What matches could Fernandes miss?

United are next in action on Boxing Day, when they host Newcastle United.

They then welcome bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers to Old Trafford, before trips to Leeds United and Burnley in the New Year.