Official Manchester United statement confirms double blow ahead of Newcastle United clash
Manchester United will be without midfield pair Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte for the visit of Newcastle United on Monday night.
Fernandes - the Red Devils’ captain - was sent off during the 2-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day after being shown two bookings.
The 30-year-old had already been red carded twice this campaign but won’t face an extended ban. He will, however, be forced to miss the next game only, which is against in-form Newcastle.
"I am always frustrated with the red card, but it can happen as he always wants to go for the ball," said manager Reuben Amorim.. "It is not like he wants to stop the player with a yellow [card].
“He wanted to go for the ball, the guy got there first and there is a contact and that thing is tough on him also."
Ugarte will join Fernandes in missing Monday’s game after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the league season at Molineux. As per Premier League rules, any player booked five times in their team’s opening 19 matches are handed an automatic one-match suspension.
The Uruguayan was booked in the second half for bringing down Goncalo Guedes as Wolves looked to break. He was substituted for Christian Eriksen, who is in line to start versus Newcastle.
Fabian Schar and Sandro Tonali have four bookings for the season and a yellow card at Old Trafford would force them to miss the visit to Tottenham Hotspur on January 4.
But if they can avoid a caution, they will no longer be walking a disciplinary tightrope. In the New Year, the threshold increases to 10 bookings in 32 matches.