Erik ten Hag issues Bruno Fernandes injury update ahead of Tottenham Hotspur game

The Portugal international picked up an ankle injury during the FA Cup semi-final with Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, which ultimately led to him being withdrawn in extra-time.

Fernandes was pictured at home earlier this week wearing a protective boot, while a pair of crutches were also in the image, fuelling fears that the midfielder could now be set for a spell on the sidelines.

Ten Hag was asked about the 28-year-old during his press conference to preview the trip to Spurs, and the Dutchman revealed that the Portuguese is a doubt for the game in London.

"There are some unavailable - [Lisandro] Martinez, [Raphael] Varane," Ten Hag told reporters when asked for an injury update. "We have to see how Bruno Fernandes is, we don't know yet. Is a question mark. But I think for the rest, we are quite okay.

"It's more often that players, we protect them, prevention but it has to settle down. We have seen he played a full game and it happened in the first half. But tomorrow is quick, we have to see what is possible."

Fernandes has often worn the captain's armband for Man United this season due to Harry Maguire no longer being an automatic pick in the starting XI.

The midfielder has featured on 50 occasions for Ten Hag's side during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 10 goals and registering 13 assists in the process.

Man United will be aiming to move nine points clear of sixth-place Tottenham, with two games in hand, when the two sides lock horns for a top-four battle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"You see the table. It's quite clear but approach, our approach will not change. Our approach is we want to win every game, it doesn't matter who the opponent is," Ten Hag added when asked about the significance of the match against a Tottenham side that lost 6-1 at Newcastle United last time out.

"It was not so often that we have to bounce back, it happens with all the great teams, Real Madrid, heh? It's obvious they had a really bad defeat, of course, they are mad, that can be fuel for bounce backing.

"It's about us, an opponent can never be more hungry than us. That is how we have to prepare the game and make sure we go front foot, be dominant and dictate the game.

"They (the players) are resilient. They are able to do it, it's not easy but they can do it. Now we have to make the next step to do it in games where you get a setback.

"You can have a bad setback but show your character and personality in the game to bounce back. I'm not in a position, I am the Man United manager, we are in another place, I have to make sure our players are ready tomorrow against a good opponent, good team, good players, I have to focus they have energy."

As well as Martinez and Varane, Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay, Tom Heaton and Alejandro Garnacho will again be missing for Man United on Thursday through injury.