Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim does not expect Bruno Fernandes or Kobbie Mainoo to be available for the Boxing Day meeting with Newcastle. While not giving precise return dates, he said he expected Mainoo to return sooner.

Fernandes picked up an injury during the first half of United's defeat at Aston Villa over the weekend. He battled through until half-time but didn't return to the pitch for the second half as a Morgan Rogers double was enough to hand United's opponents all three points.

Mainoo was injured in training on the eve of the Villa game but is closing in on a return. "No, not for this game [Newcastle], they are recovering. I don’t think it will take a lot of time, I think Kobbie will return faster for Bruno," Amorim said.

United take on Manchester City in the derby on January 17, and it remains to be seen whether their skipper is back in time for that game. "I don’t want to say. I have an idea, of course, but let’s see," Amorim said when asked about Fernandes' return date.

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Since joining United from Sporting CP in January 2020, Fernandes has been a near-permanent fixture in the first team. The 31-year-old has missed just nine of United's 221 league games over that period, and had played the full 90 in the bulk of this season's games before injury struck at Villa Park.

Amorim is already without Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad, with all three away at the Africa Cup of Nations. The loss of Fernandes is an additional blow, and the head coach will need to find a way to make up for the absence of a player who has contributed five goals and seven assists this term.

United take on Newcastle on Boxing Day, and follow that with another home game four days later against Wolves. They have two further league games before the Manchester Derby on January 17 - away at Leeds and Burnley - and will host Brighton in the FA Cup on January 11.

United will at least be able to call upon Casemiro on Boxing Day. The Brazilian sat out the Villa game through suspension, but it was just a one-game ban for the accumulation of yellow cards.

Manuel Ugarte could continue after being given a rare start at Villa Park. Lisandro Martinez is another option, with the centre-back used in a midfield role after coming off the bench, while young midfielder Jack Fletcher will be pushing for more minutes in the middle after making his Premier League bow over the weekend.

"We have other players, we need to maybe see different ways of playing," Amorim said. "I think Jack Fletcher did a very good job, and that’s why when we have these opportunities, we need to give space to guys like Jack and the other ones."

When discussing Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, who both missed Sunday's game through injury, he added: "We are still working with them. They are not available for this one, but let’s see for the next one."

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