Carrick promises Fernandes rest after United captain spotted limping ahead of Manchester derby

Michael Carrick has pledged to give Bruno Fernandes a rest after the Manchester United captain was spotted limping away from Old Trafford following Wednesday’s Champions League win over Sabah — with a high-stakes derby against Manchester City now just days away.

Fernandes has started all four of United’s matches this season, scoring in each of them, including the opener against Sabah. Carrick made widespread second-half substitutions but kept the 32-year-old on for the full 90 minutes, a decision that appeared to take a physical toll on his captain.

“We only had five subs! We had to make certain decisions on what that looked like,” Carrick said in his post-match press conference. “But, of course, he’s like anybody else. He has played an awful lot, but I think we’re developing the group and the squad to be able to accommodate that in different ways. Tonight was just one of those things, there were decisions to be made and he ended up staying on.”

The United manager’s injury concerns do not end with Fernandes. Left-back Luke Shaw was left out of the squad against Sabah as a precaution, and Carrick confirmed his availability for Sunday remains uncertain. “We just kind of looked after him a little bit going into tonight. He wasn’t quite ready for it 100%, so we didn’t risk it. We’ll see how he is over the next couple of days or so,” he said.

Marcus Rashford was another notable absentee against Sabah, though Carrick was quick to clarify the forward is not carrying an injury. “A little bit of that, yeah, and trying to share the load a little bit, to a point, as well,” the manager said when asked whether the absence was precautionary. “It was nice to keep Marcus fresh and ready for the weekend.”

Ben Šeško was among those to benefit from the rotation, picking up valuable minutes in the Champions League opener. Carrick acknowledged the difficulty of managing the squad’s workload while keeping key players sharp: “There’s always a bit of a challenge in getting that right.”

United face a formidable opponent on Sunday, with Manchester City arriving at Old Trafford having won all three of their Premier League fixtures and having also beaten Porto in their own Champions League opener. The derby represents a significant early test of where Carrick’s side stand in the title picture.