CSKA Moscow confident influential Mario Fernandes will be ready for Manchester United clash

CSKA Moscow are hopeful Mario Fernandes will fit be to start against Manchester United in their Champions League clash on Wednesday (27 September).

Fernandes, 27, had been ever-present in Viktor Goncharenko's starting XI this season until he was forced off 29 minutes into the goalless draw with Dinamo Moscow with a concussion on Saturday (23 September).

The former Gremio youngster had been a fixture on the right of his side's 3-5-2 formation but had been considered a doubt for the visit of Jose Mourinho's side having undergone scans over the weekend.

But speaking at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Goncharenko was hopeful the Brazilian will be ready to take his place in the team once again.

"Fernandes is a true fighter, we know that, so if there is a little chance he will take this chance and play, the likelihood that he will play is very high," the CSKA head coach said.

CSKA came from a goal behind to beat Benfica in Lisbon in the opening round of the Champions League group stage a fortnight ago, with Vitinho and Timur Zhamaletdinov each grabbing a goal to cancel out Haris Seferovic's strike.

United, meanwhile, sealed a 3-0 win over FC Basel at Old Trafford, a victory that came at a price with Paul Pogba limping off injured inside the opening 20 minutes. United are yet to discover the length of his absence but he will certainly miss Wednesday's clash in the Russian capital, with Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick also not available. Fellaini is still feeling the effects of a heavy challenge from Southampton's Shane Long over the weekend with Carrick also joining him on the sidelines.

In all, Mourinho will be without seven members of his first team, with Antonio Valencia and Phil Jones also not making the trip and Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sidelined until after Christmas.