It was revealed during Thursday’s Manchester United press conference that Bruno Fernandes could return to first-team contention in Gameweek 9 after clear-the-air talks with Michael Carrick.
- READ MORE: Press conferences for Gameweek 9
“It was a decision, as I said, for what we felt for for the game. That’s it. Bruno is fully committed to this football club, there’s absolutely no issues with that. We move forward, we make decisions as we go. We are looking forward to the game on Saturday now.” – Michael Carrick on benching Bruno Fernandes last weekend
“There’s no decision to be made on [whether Bruno retains the captaincy].
“He’s the captain of our football club, you know, and there’s different personalities, there’s different characteristics, there’s different ways to lead. It all comes down to what happens on the football pitch and whether you win or not, in the end. So, all the questions get asked, and I understand why you’re asking them now, but he cares deeply about this football club and about the team and he’s desperate to do well. So, we’ll lead that together.” – Michael Carrick on Bruno Fernandes
Kobbie Mainoo (unspecified) could feature, too, after a return to training.
“[In terms of] good news, Kobbie has done a little bit of training yesterday. So, he’s back in and around the group, so that’s obviously a positive.” – Michael Carrick
However, Luke Shaw (unspecified) and Marcus Rashford (hip) look set to miss out again. Also on the sidelines are Patrick Dorgu (hamstring), Manuel Ugarte (knee) and Benjamin Sesko (calf).
“Yeah, unfortunately, Ben looks like he’s going to be out for a period of time. We’re still not clear on exactly how long but it’s going to be for a longer period of time.” – Michael Carrick, when asked if reports ruling Benjamin Sesko out until the New Year were accurate
