Bruno Fernandes (left) reacts toward Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo: VCG
There was a notable absence from Manchester United's first starting lineup of 2022 when interim coach Ralf Rangnick chose to do what his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had so often refused to do and left Bruno Fernandes out of the team to face Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford.
Rangnick had said it was not an easy decision to leave out the Portuguese midfielder, who had become available for selection once more after missing the final home game of 2021 - a 3-1 win over Burnley - through suspension.
"Leaving Fernandes out was a tough decision to make," Rangnick said. "He is one of our most important creative players, but we played well against Burnley, so stayed with the same formation we played against them."
In the end Fernandes joined the fray from the bench but could do little to help United as they lost 1-0 to Wolves for a first defeat under Rangnick. In playing, Fernandes has his first appearance of 2022 and the 28-year-old's lack of any real rest continues apace.
Last year, even with his suspension ruling him out against Sean Dyche's side, Fernandes played 73 games for club and country - averaging a game every five days without any prolonged break. That figure does not include the preseason appearance he made for Manchester United ahead of this season.
Fernandes was the first name on the teamsheet for Solskjaer and the vast majority of his 58 appearances for United came under the Norwegian. It was little wonder that Solskjaer was so reliant on the player he had signed in January 2020 from Sporting Lisbon and who went on to transform that 2019-20 season for United.
Arguably the 2020-21 season was even better for Fernandes as he was among those seriously spoken of as a Ballon d'Or contender.
Fernandes played 15 times for his country, missing only one Portugal match during 2021. He is not likely to miss their next when the Portuguese take on Turkey in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 playoffs in March, with the prize a winner-takes-all meeting with the winner of European Championship winners Italy and North Macedonia for a spot at the World Cup.
The 67 million pound signing was not rested even when Solskjaer had the opportunity, such as the second leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 32 last February with United 4-0 up from the first leg. It is understandable why Solskjaer would not drop his talisman, though. Fernandes would end the season as the team's top scorer with 28 goals across all competitions and as the top assist maker with 17.
Even with those numbers Fernandes arguably looked burned out at times during the last season, never more than an insipid performance in United's Europa League final disappointment with Villarreal.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (No.18) takes a free kick on January 3, 2022 in Manchester, England. Photo: VCG
Fernandes has also failed to hit the heights in the same manner this season bar an impressive opening-day thrashing of Leeds United at Old Trafford when he hit a hat trick.
Since his international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined the club in late August, Fernandes has taken a back seat in terms of attack. Even if he is still creating chances - and he leads the league in chance creation - his teammates are not taking them. He has even missed a penalty this season, which was almost unimaginable in the seasons before.
Fernandes is unlikely to win a third consecutive Player of the Year award for the club and did not win the Player of the Month vote once during 2021, last taking the monthly crown for December 2020, coincidentally the last time that he won the English Premier League Player of the Month award.
Arguably there are other factors at play with Fernandes but his workload cannot have helped and should Portugal make it to Qatar next winter then it is not likely to ease much, bar United going out of tournaments earlier than they did last season.
Fernandes is not the only overworked player, of course, with his 73 games in 2021 closely followed by Leicester City and Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on 72 games. Disregarding if goalkeepers do not have the same physical workload as outfield players, their mental workload is as much if not more than their teammates in front of them. The 35-year-old has shown no signs of struggling though, even with the added emotion of Christian Eriksen's collapse during Denmark's first game of the Euros in the summer.
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias played just two games fewer than his international teammate Fernandes on 71. Dias arrived at City in the summer of 2020 and established himself as the rock at the heart of their defense as they went on to win the title. The 24-year-old looks even more impressive this season as the champions look favorites to retain that title.
Napoli and North Macedonia's Elif Elmas and Chelsea and England's Mason Mount, both 22, each played 70 games in 2021, with Mount winning the UEFA Champions League and then taking England to the final of Euro 2020.
Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid and France, Italy and Napoli's Giovanni di Lorenzo, Leroy Sane of Bayern Munich and Germany, and Barcelona's Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets all played 69 games. While they have been ever presents for their teams again this season that is not a level that they can maintain forever.
Spare a thought for Pedri, the Barcelona and Spain youngster whose 2020-21 season seemed never-ending. After breaking into the Barcelona first team, he then represented his country with the seniors at Euro 2020 and then the under-23s at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Pedri picked up a muscle injury on his return from Japan and has yet to feature for Barcelona since August.
Time is on Pedri's side but football's unceasing calendar has shown that it cuts little slack for players such as him and Fernandes. The more reliant a team is on such players, the more strain can be put on them, but at what cost?
