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A source at Old Trafford has described Bruno Fernandes as the player with the “highest pain threshold of anyone I’ve ever met” as the Manchester United captain continues his almost unbelievable streak of availability.
Despite making his debut in senior football twelve years ago, and racking up over 500 appearances in the process, Fernandes is yet to miss a single game through injury. The only time he has been ruled out since arriving at United in January 2020 was through illness against Tottenham Hotspur in March 2022.
It constitutes a ridiculous level of consistency for the Portuguese international, particularly when the fact he is one of his team’s most willing runners and most involved players is taken into consideration.
It is also not due to luck.
Fernandes will often play through injury, despite the pain involved being sufficient enough to rule out most other players. This commitment and drive to always be available for his team is what drives this source at United to reveal Fernandes’ tolerance for pain is unmatched.
Against Fulham last month, Fernandes injured himself while taking a shot with the game poised at 1-1.
In response to what they believed was a theatrical reaction, the Cottagers’ social media team chose to post a video mocking the United captain after the match at Old Trafford had finished 2-1 to the visiting side.
Except the injury was genuine; as was Fernandes’ pained reaction to it. As a result, United officials, including manager Erik ten Hag, were furious at Fulham for the response.
The Dutchman stated he believed the London club should apologise for their social media team’s post in his post-match interview. “If they did this I would say it is not right. It is absolutely not right. It is not right for a club to make such statements. They should apologise for this,” Ten Hag asserted.
A club source reveals the injury was grave enough that it would normally have resulted in a player being substituted. It would also have then ruled that player out of the next match, given it was only four days later against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup fifth round – a crucial game for United’s chances of salvaging success from an otherwise disappointing season.
Instead, Fernandes played on against Fulham before starting, and playing the entire game, against Forest, producing a brilliantly taken free-kick in the final minutes of the game to assist Casemiro’s winner, sending United into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
From the outside, Fernandes’ reaction against Fulham was one worthy of mockery on social media by oppositions fans. But, internally at the club he leads, it was simply another example, from a long list, of a player willing to risk his own fitness in the pursuit of his team’s success.
Nosso Capitão.
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