The remarkable Premier League stats that underline Man Utd's over reliance on Fernandes

Manchester United midfielder Erik ten Hag felt compelled to come out swinging in defence of his captain Bruno Fernandes on Wednesday night, following the club’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. Despite reports prior to the game suggesting that the Portugal international may miss the game through injury, Fernandes played all 90 minutes of the fixture and played a crucial role in the victory, assisting Casemiro to score the only goal of the match just a few minutes before full time. 

“There were many fouls on him. You see when he is getting the ball, they are really tight on him,” complained the Man Utd boss at full time, in reference to Forest’s aggressive defending before taking aim at the club’s own fans. “I don't say what it is, but it was a serious injury. I see social media criticise him. It is pathetic. He has a serious injury, he continued to play on Saturday and then also he fought to be part of this game.” 

Indeed, there’s little doubt that Ten Hag clearly feels a strong sense of loyalty to the midfielder. And when we take a look at how reliable Fernandes has been for Man Utd over the years, it’s clear to see why. While the club has had to deal with one injury crisis after another, Fernandes has perhaps been the only player Ten Hag has been able to rely upon since he joined the club. And as a result, Man Utd have perhaps become over-reliant on their Portuguese No.10 to the point that he has played far too much football since he joined the club from Sporting in January 2020 for €65 million. 

Bruno Fernandes’ incredible game time record for Man Utd 

Despite the increasing physicality of modern football and the toll that typically takes on players, Fernandes has enjoyed a remarkable degree of good fortune with regards to avoiding injuries at Old Trafford. Since joining the club over four years ago, the Portugal international has missed just one match for the Red Devils and that was technically due to an illness rather than any physical injury to his muscles or bones. And as a result, Fernandes is in a league of his own when it comes to picking up game time for the club. 

Although it will come as no great surprise to Man Utd fans, there’s little doubt that Fernandes has been Man Utd’s most-used player in the Premier League since he joined the club. Over the course of 149 games, the midfielder has amassed no less than 12, 664 minutes of top-flight football. Not only does that put Fernandes ahead of any other player at the club, but it also represents a remarkable gulf of 3,597 minutes between the midfielder and the second most-used player in that period of time. In other words, Fernandes has played the equivalent of 40 extra league games of football than second placed Marcus Rashford (9,067 minutes) and just over 61 extra league games than the next most-used midfielder Scott McTominay (7,137 minutes) 

When we compare Fernandes to all other outfield players in the English top-flight, we find that he also ranks very highly there too. Since making his debut in the Premier League, only three outfield players have amassed more minutes than the Man Utd midfielder, with Declan Rice (12,749), James Tarkowski (13,368) and James Ward-Prowse (13,448) all coming ahead of the 29-year-old star. Which, again, underlines just how vital Fernandes has been to Ten Hag’s team and perhaps how over-reliant they are on the Portugal No.10 featuring each and every week for Man Utd.