Despite the fact that he recently scored for his national team, the Portuguese midfielder is currently walking a disciplinary tightrope because he is only two yellow cards away from being required to serve a mandatory suspension.
Fernandes is getting closer to the barrier where players who earn 10 yellow cards within their team’s first 32 Premier League matches are automatically sidelined for two games.
This is because Fernandes has already accumulated eight yellow cards this season.
Prior to this predicament, Fernandes had previously served a suspension earlier in the season for reaching five yellow cards, which resulted in him missing a critical match against Liverpool. This predicament is the result of that ban.
In light of what lies ahead, Fernandes must proceed with prudence in the forthcoming matches against Brentford and Chelsea, which will take place before the crucial match against Liverpool on April 7th.
In the event if he gets shown a yellow card in each of the ensuing two matches, he runs the chance of being unable to participate in the encounter against Liverpool as well as the contest that follows against Bournemouth.
A relatively clean disciplinary record has been maintained by the United captain in recent times, as he has only been booked once in the nine Premier League games that have taken place.
It is imperative that Fernandes maintains his cool in order to avoid a suspension that may have a negative impact on the performance of his team.
Important matches are on the horizon, including a match against Chelsea the following week.
Fernandes is not the only player who is on the verge of receiving a suspension; Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea and Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United are also on the verge of receiving a suspension with nine yellow cards received apiece.
Jackson is facing a vital phase in which any additional bookings could result in him being suspended for important matches.
This is because Chelsea still has five games to play before reaching the 32-game milestone during this era.