Bruno Fernandes did not feature as Portugal suffered a shock 2-0 loss against the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup qualification fixture on Thursday evening.
Rúben Amorim will be keeping a close eye on his Manchester United stars across the international break as the club heads into a heavy set of fixtures before the new year.
United have played just three fixtures a month for most of this season due to a lack of European and Carabao Cup football. Still, once the November international break ends, a much more gruelling list of fixtures will commence.
Across November and December, United will play eight fixtures in 46 days, facing the likes of Crystal Palace and Aston Villa away, playing Wolverhampton Wanderers twice, and welcoming Everton, Newcastle, and Bournemouth to Old Trafford.
During the international break, several of Amorim’s men are in action across World Cup qualifying matches, with the United head coach no doubt hoping that his players stay injury-free.
Why Fernandes didn’t play vs Ireland
Portugal suffered a shock 2-0 loss against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday evening, with a first-half brace from Troy Parrott securing a brilliant victory for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men.
United full-back Diogo Dalot played the entire fixture, 40-year-old former Red Devil Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for violent conduct in the second half, and club captain Bruno Fernandes did not feature.
Despite some concern surrounding Fernandes not even appearing on the bench for Roberto Martínez’s men, the reason for his absence is that he was serving a one-match ban for accumulating yellow cards.
Fernandes picked up his fifth yellow card of the World Cup qualifying campaign during a 2-2 draw with Hungary last month, hitting the quota for a one-game ban, and therefore being unavailable against Ireland. He is expected to return to the side against Armenia on Sunday.
Amorim will likely be happy to see that his talisman has been forced to rest for at least one of the two international fixtures ahead of a busy schedule at Old Trafford.
United receive mixed Mbeumo boost
Meanwhile, United have also received a mixed boost about Bryan Mbeumo following his stunning start to the season in Red.
Mbeumo signed from Brentford for an initial £65 million fee back in June, and has racked up a brilliant six goals in his first 11 games for the club, although his form for United has not been quite replicated on the international stage.
On Thursday evening, Cameroon fell to a 1-0 defeat against DR Congo, courtesy of a 90+1′ minute winner from Lille centre-half Chancel Mbemba. This defeat has meant that Cameroon will not qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Although it is never a positive to see United’s best players not feature at any international tournament, the club will be somewhat relieved to know that Mbeumo will have a whole summer of rest and return for day one of United’s 2026 pre-season preparations, provided he remains injury-free.
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