Could Bruno be rested at Newcastle?

Now, as we prepare for the reverse fixture with the Tynesiders, Ruben Amorim has been asked about the possibility of rotating his side and potentially giving his captain a rest.

Bruno’s ability to keep going through even the busiest of schedules is legendary and the Portugal international hasn’t let the workload get to him in recent weeks.

The Premier League’s reigning Player of the Month scored six goals in March and was again key in Thursday’s 2-2 draw in Lyon, playing an important role in goals for Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee.

The second leg with the Ligue Un outfit will be our biggest game of the season so far, and Amorim has a choice to make regarding his XI on Sunday, as the St James’s Park clash against a physical Newcastle side is likely to take plenty out of the players.

Amorim conceded that, although he would have to consult the data in regards to a few members of his squad, some – including Bruno – thrive off always being involved.

"It's an evaluation,” Ruben said of the situation with Bruno.

“We'll make this evaluation with all the staff, with all the data that we have, and then because we know already the players, we will try to protect the ones that it will be hard to make a lot of games.

“But Bruno Fernandes is playing all the time and he's playing better all the time. Sometimes, this kind of player has to play in every match.

“But we will address that in these days that we have to prepare."

Fernandes has been involved for 4,078 of a possible 4,470 minutes this season – not including added time – and is, once again, a strong candidate to claim the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award.

He’s our leading scorer across all competitions, with 16 goals, and the 30-year-old has also laid on 18 assists for team-mates.

"Sometimes, winning games is the best way of preparing the next one,” Amorim continued, in regards to his selection in the north east.

“Of course, I'm going to be careful with some players, but we need to be competitive. When you are playing for Manchester United, you cannot go to the game thinking about the next one.

“So we are going to face this one. We have three days and we are going to prepare the game in the way without a lot of running, a lot of training.

“It's just recovering. And then we will be fine on Thursday, with our fans. But we need to face Newcastle in a way that we can win the game."