Man Utd 'can't afford' to have 'crucial' Fernandes out

Story by[]BBCMon, December 22, 2025 at 8:43 AM UTC·1 min readFormer Premier League striker Clinton Morrison said the biggest concern for Manchester United is not the result at Villa Park but Bruno Fernades' injury. The United captain initially pulled up towards the end of the first-half, feeling his hamstring, but continued until half-time when he was substituted for Lisandro Martinez. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt is unlike Fernandes, who in his entire time at United has missed two games due to injury towards the end of 2023-24 and one match through illness."It is difficult to know what to make of this game as it feels, typically United, in that it was two steps forward and three steps back," said Morrison on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "The 4-4 draw with Bournemouth was crazy because they were more attacking, but they were still good against Aston Villa."Matheus Cunha's goal was a fantastic finish, but he also missed a golden opportunity from six-yards out. He had to find the back of the net there."They lost Fernandes at half-time but Martinez did well in the second-half and he sat in front of the defenders dictating play. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"United will just have to hope Fernandes' injury is not four or five weeks because that would be a huge blow.