Injured Fernandes faces full 90 minutes for Portugal as United sweat on captain's fitness

Bruno Fernandes is set to start Portugal’s Nations League fixture against Norway in Porto on Sunday, raising fresh fitness concerns at Manchester United, where the 32-year-old has been managing an injury for several weeks.

Fernandes first picked up the problem during United’s Champions League win against Sabah and has since required late fitness tests before starting Premier League matches against Manchester City and Fulham. His performances in both games were described as below his usual standard, and his recovery ahead of each fixture reportedly caught some staff at Carrington by surprise.

The international break was initially expected to offer Fernandes some respite. Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus rested him for the Nations League trip to Norway — the second of four fixtures in the window — after the midfielder came off early in the opening game against Wales with what Jesus called a “complicated problem”, also revealing that Fernandes had been playing through pain at club level.

Any prospect of further rest evaporated when Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portugal camp following a dispute. Ronaldo had been an unused substitute against Norway before skipping training and departing, leaving Fernandes to inherit the national team captaincy. He played the full 90 minutes in Thursday’s win in Denmark, contributing two assists, and is expected to carry a heavy workload again against Norway.

Fernandes also took the pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s game, fielding questions about Ronaldo and what is clearly a sensitive subject within the Portugal squad. Rather than a quiet wind-down to the break, his responsibilities have grown significantly.

A Portugal win on Sunday would give them four victories from four in this Nations League phase, keeping them firmly on course for a place in the finals. That context makes it unlikely Fernandes will be shielded from a full shift.

Back in Manchester, United manager Michael Carrick will be monitoring events in Porto closely. If Fernandes comes through unscathed, he will have the best part of a week to recover before United host Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday — a fixture that begins a demanding run of fixtures for the club.