Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Bruno Fernandes and Raphael Varane will be available for the Premier League derby against Manchester City.
Fernandes and Varane were carrying knocks in the lead-up to the FA Cup fifth round tie against Nottingham Forest, but they were able to recover in time.
Fernandes made his mark in the game with the assist for Casemiro’s late winner at City Ground.
Speaking after the 1-0 win, Ten Hag said that Fernandes has been playing through the pain barrier. The captain now looks set to be available for the Manchester derby.
Both him and Varane came out of the FA Cup tie without any fresh concerns and the manager has revealed that the duo will be involved against the Cityzens.
He told Manutd.com: “They [Varane and Fernandes] fought to be part and they came well out of the game. I think they will be available for Sunday as well.”
“And for the rest, I don’t think players will return for Sunday, so we do it with the squad from yesterday.”
United were in fantastic league form before the Fulham defeat. They won four games on the bounce. Some of those were hard-fought but they deserved those victories.
The Fulham loss came at the wrong time as United had momentum on their side. The club are now eight points adrift of the top four and every game is a must-win hereafter.
The fans will be happy that Fernandes and Varane (valued at a combined €100 million by Transfermarkt) are fully fit, but the club need to put up a huge performance.
United have beaten City away from home in the league in 2019 and 2021, but they face an uphill task of ending their 24-match unbeaten league streak amid injuries.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
