Bruno Fernandes has returned to individual training as Manchester United’s pre-season tour continues without him – posting footage of his sessions on Instagram while he completes his recovery from Euro 2024 duty.
The United captain has not featured in any of the Reds’ three pre-season fixtures to date – defeats to Rosenborg and Arsenal bookending a 2-0 win over Rangers – but the 29-year-old is clearly not using the downtime as a holiday. Videos shared via Instagram by trainer @du_barboza, and reposted by Fernandes himself, showed him curling a first-time effort into the top corner from a right-flank feed and working through resistance band running drills.
It is the kind of footage that underlines the point without needing to be made explicitly: Fernandes is doing the work.
PSG and the Community Shield in his sights
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With United’s pre-season schedule stepping up in intensity, the imminent priority for Fernandes is building enough fitness to be available for the Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley – likely to be his first competitive outing of the summer. A first pre-season appearance before that Wembley date remains possible but has not been confirmed.
Fernandes has been absent from the tour as part of a planned recovery window following Portugal’s involvement in Euro 2024. He is far from the only senior player eased back in gradually, but as club captain, his trajectory naturally draws the most attention.
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PSG interest: INEOS not listening
There is another reason Fernandes’s status is being tracked closely this summer. PSG have been mooted as potential suitors for the Portugal international, though INEOS have no intention of entertaining the idea. There is no suggestion the club are ready to listen to formal offers, and the framing around Fernandes’s Instagram activity – a captain visibly committed to the hard yards – only reinforces that picture.
Fernandes joined United from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020 and has since established himself as a key figure at the club. His long-term importance to the project is not in question at boardroom level, and his early return to individual training suggests the feeling is mutual.
Once he is back in the group at Carrington, the next step becomes integrating him into match minutes – with Wembley on the horizon and a new season arriving fast.