‘We’re going to struggle’ - Ruben Amorim makes bleak January transfer window prediction after Man Utd suffer Bruno Fernandes injury blow

United saw more precious points slip through their grasp when suffering a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa. Morgan Rogers bagged a brace in that contest, with defensive frailties proving to be the Red Devils’ undoing - as Leny Yoro endured an outing to forget in the West Midlands.

A disappointing trip out on the road also saw Amorim lose his skipper to an untimely injury. Fernandes was seen grabbing his hamstring during the first half against Villa and he did not emerge from the tunnel for the second 45.

Fellow midfielder Kobbie Mainoo had been ruled out of a meeting with the Villans with an unfortunate knock, while Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt is another of those on the treatment table. Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui are away with their respective countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Amorim has seen his options depleted as a result, with teenage academy stars Jack Fletcher and Shea Lacey handed senior debuts off the bench at Villa Park. Ayden Heaven, who is just 19 years of age, was included from the start.

United are still waiting on a full medical assessment when it comes to Fernandes, but he appears destined to miss matches over the festive period. Amorim said of that selection headache: “I will see what we’re going to do. I think Kobbie Mainoo is out and Bruno is out. So we will see. We are going to find solutions. No excuses. We need to win the next game and we will try to win the next game.”

Amorim will not be looking to spend his way out of trouble, with the 40-year-old saying of the upcoming transfer window: “What we cannot do is to reach January and try to do everything in urgency and make mistakes and then [it’s] ‘here we go again’ with a lot of mistakes. I’m not going to get [together] with Jason and Omar and say: ‘We need a lot of players.’ Because we have a plan.

“If we have to suffer, the club comes first. Of course, we are in a moment where we need points but we need to find solutions and we are going to continue with our plan. You can feel in this moment that we are going to struggle, but we will see. We have to deal with it.”

Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!

Amorim was generally pleased with what he saw from United against Villa, with Matheus Cunha having cancelled out Rogers’ first-half opener before another lapse in concentration led to all three points being surrendered.

Amorim told Sky Sports: “I think everybody saw that we were the better team today, we were unlucky. Even with the injury of Bruno, but during the game even without Bruno we were the better team. The transitions, one against one the whole time, so I think we did a very good job that no one is going to remember tomorrow because what matters is the result.

“We knew that Aston Villa play with everybody inside, and we needed to overload that situation. We have been working, training like that, so different options. We can use different starting 11s for any game, so I think we are improving. Again, I think we deserved so, so much more today.”

Fernandes’ injury has been described as a “soft tissue” ailment, but no timescale has been put on his recovery and potential return to action. United will, as a collective, be back on a Premier League stage when welcoming Newcastle to Old Trafford on Friday.

They will do so sat seventh in the table, just three points adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool but with only two victories being secured through their last eight fixtures in the English top-flight.