Ruben Amorim will be without at least four players through injury when Man Utd face Wolves in the Premier League in their final game of 2025.
Bruno Fernandes is already itching to return to training at Manchester United
Manchester United will be without captain Bruno Fernandes for their Premier League clash with Wolves on Tuesday, despite the midfielder asking to return to training just a week after picking up a hamstring injury. Ruben Amorim is also sweating on the fitness of Mason Mount after he limped out of the Boxing Day win against Newcastle United.
United felt they couldn’t risk Mount after he complained of feeling tightness against the Magpies, with Amorim already dealing with a significant injury list, while Noussair Mazraoui, Amad and Bryan Mbeumo are away at the Africa Cup of Nations. Centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire remain absent, while Kobbie Mainoo won’t be fit to face Wolves.
“I don’t know how Mase is going to be for that game,” said Amorim. “I think Kobbie Mainoo is not going to be ready. Bruno is not going to be ready. I think Matt is not going to be ready. Harry is not going to be ready. So, I think we are not going to have more players.”
Fernandes is expected to miss a few weeks of action with a minor hamstring injury, but Amorim revealed he is already asking to get back involved in training sessions at Carrington. Mainoo is set to return to first-team training this week, which could put him in the frame to face Leeds on Sunday, but De Ligt and Maguire face longer on the sidelines.
“Bruno was already saying that he needs to train, but we don’t know,” said Amorim. “No chance he is going to play against Wolves, no chance.
“Kobbie Mainoo is going to start on the [training] pitch also, so we will see. Matthijs is struggling a little bit. Harry the same thing.”
Fernandes was at Old Trafford on Boxing Day to watch United beat Newcastle, ending a run of six Premier League fixtures without a win when the 31-year-old doesn’t play.
In his absence, Lisandro Martinez was named captain, but Amorim revealed Fernandes’ influence stretches beyond the pitch and praised the way he had continued to back his teammates while injured. The Portugal international has even been watching training after completing his treatment at Carrington.
“He’s always speaking, that’s why he’s the captain,” the United head coach said. “He has bad things sometimes, the way move his arms, but he has a lot of good things.
“The practice, every time he makes a recovery, he is the guy who is going to watch the other guys’ training that day. So there is a lot of things that you guys don’t see but that he does. He’s a great leader all the time.
“He’s the guy that is watching training even after treatment. He’s going there. I don’t know if he wants my job or not, but he’s a leader. The guy is a leader.”
Wolves are yet to win in the Premier League this season, losing 16 of their 18 fixtures, and United won 4-1 at Molineux earlier this month. The return fixture offers United the chance to end the year on a high and Amorim knows victory is essential.
“We need to [win], and they show that against Arsenal, they could get at least one point,” he said. “So, in the Premier League, you never know. They have their problems, we have our problems but there is no excuses. We need to win, we will try to win the game.”