Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith believes Man Utd pair Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha have “got to” fill the void left by captain Bruno Fernandes.

The Portuguese international will be sidelined with a hamstring injury for another three weeks at the very least, and speaking to Best Betting Sites UK, Smith said that United’s other creative players must step up in his absence:

“Man Utd are going to miss Bruno badly, I would imagine, because he’s just been the fulcrum of everything that they do going forward. He’s so consistent, he leads from the front. Expects high standards – doesn’t always get them – but he demands them. So that’s going to be a big loss.”

“When you look at all the teams and players they could lose, I think for Man United, this will hit the hardest. So now the onus is on people like Mount and Matthias Cunha to step forward; they’ve got to do it. Šeško up top is still not playing as well as he would like, but you can’t be reliant on one player. They’ve spent a lot of money at Man United. So, as I said, players like Cunha have to step forward and fill the gap.”

Which Man Utd game could Fernandes return for?

Reliable sources suggest that the Manchester derby on January 17th is the match that the club’s medical staff have pencilled in for the 31-year-old’s return to action.

If that estimated comeback date proves to be accurate, it means that Fernandes will be sidelined for at least another four games, after missing the Newcastle fixture on Boxing Day.

Cunha and Mount need to up their game

Fernandes has managed 12 goal contributions in all competitions so far this season – 5 goals and 7 assists in 18 appearances.

Cunha and Mount have not managed that many between them, which does show you how big a loss United’s talisman is. Fans will be hoping that the pair can begin to contribute more and more over the next few weeks.

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