Criticism over 'badly injured' Fernandes is just pathetic, fumes Erik.

ERIK TEN HAG accused Nottingham Forest of targeting Bruno Fernandes in Manchester United's dramatic FA Cup win at the City Ground last night — and said recent criticism of his captain was 'pathetic'. Fernandes came under fire again following United's defeat by Fulham after footage emerged of him going down heavily under a challenge from Sasa Lukic towards the end of the game, then getting up quickly to demand the ball when he wasn't awarded a free-kick. But Ten Hag insisted the Portugal star had played through the pain barrier at Forest, and claimed that United's opponents had singled him out for special treatment with a series of fouls. Fernandes (below) was a doubt for the game and limped out of the stadium afterwards, which is a worry for United ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby at the Etihad. 'You saw that Forest were targeting him,' said Ten Hag. 'There were many fouls on him. You see when he is getting the ball, they are really tight on him. I won't say what it is, but it was a serious injury. I see social media criticise him. It is pathetic. He has a serious injury, he continued to play on Saturday and then also fought to be part of this game. He has a very high pain threshold. Last year he did something similar against Spurs. It shows his leadership.' Ten Hag also praised his team for bouncing back after the painful injury-time defeat by Fulham to set up a quarter-final clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford. 'It's the best time to score at the end,' he added. 'This team, what they showed today, that's great. They have to show it every game. I'm very proud we did it.' Meanwhile, United have been asked by Women's Aid if their position towards Mason Greenwood has changed. It follows Sir Jim Ratcliffe saying last week that the club would make a fresh decision on the striker's future in the summer. Mail Sport understands United responded to Women's Aid by stating their expectation remains that Greenwood, who is on loan at Getafe in Spain, will be sold in the summer. However, they acknowledged that Ratcliffe's words were ambiguous, given the need to find a buyer and get a fair fee. Additional reporting: Matt Hughes [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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