Ruben Amorim provided a worrying update on Bruno Fernandes after the Manchester United captain was forced off during Sunday’s defeat to Aston Villa. The midfielder was replaced at the interval after picking up an injury towards the end of the first half. United went on to suffer a narrow defeat with Morgan Rogers scoring two goals either side of Matheus Cunha’s leveller.

The result saw the Red Devils miss out on a place in the Premier League’s top five over the Christmas period. To make matters worse, it seems as though Fernandes will be sidelined for an unspecified number of games. Asked for an update in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Amorim admitted that the Portuguese playmaker is expected to be out for ‘a while’.

He said: “I think it’s soft tissue so it’s going to be a while. We’ll see.” United will, as always, need to wait for the result of a scan to discover the full extent of the problem.

Speaking about injuries in general, Amorim added: “It is really strange. During this year, especially at this time, we have so many problems, but we have to cope with that.”

In spite of the result, the United boss was relatively pleased with his team’s performance, insisting they were the stronger side for the majority of the contest.

“I think we were the better team today,” he said. “We were unlucky, even with the injury of Bruno, but during the game even without him we were the better team.

“We blocked the transitions quite well and they did really well. We did a very good job that no one is going to remember tomorrow because what matters is the result.

“We already knew that Aston Villa play with everybody inside and we needed to overload that situation. We have been training like that.

“We did different options, we can use different starting elevens depending on the game, so we are improving. Again I think we deserved so much more today but the better team did not win.”

Academy graduates Jack Fletcher, the son of United legend Darren, and Shea Lacey were introduced from the bench in the closing stages of the match.

“I think Fletcher did his first game, so that is good news, Lacey the same, so we will try to find solutions and go for the next game,” explained Amorim.

“I am a manager for six years and even Sporting is all about the academy, so it’s about the history. Every manager wants to bring players through from the academy and not spend money because this gives value to the manager.

“I just want to win and want to be certain that the players that come in from the academy are not going to suffer too much. I’m just trying to help the club, it doesn’t matter if it’s from the academy or abroad.”