Did Javier Hernandez' love of NFL result in him being benched by Manchester United?

The Manchester United striker may be hoping his namesake Aaron Hernandez is not victorious in the AFC Championship game in the NFL on Sunday.

Perhaps we know why Mexican Javier Hernandez was on the bench on Sunday.

Before the midday kick-off against Liverpool he was up until the early hours, watching the NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos.

It was a thrilling contest; one which began at 9.30pm and went into overtime, lasting for the best part of four hours.

Among the millions of viewers worldwide was Manchester United hitman Javier Hernandez.

At 1.18am on Saturday night he Tweeted his congratulations to the Ravens for their unlikely playoff victory.

“@garciaposti: “@esaau2562: @garciaposti twitter.com/esaau2562/stat…”/ Es un Dios!” Well done ravens!!!!
— Chicharito Hernandez (@CH14_) January 13, 2013

Now we don't know what time Sir Alex Ferguson likes his players to be tucked up in bed and fast asleep the night before a midday kick-off at home to Liverpool, but we're guessing anything past midnight is too late as far as he is concerned.

Did Sir Alex's 'spies' catch Hernandez out? Did he turn up for the game weary eyed?

We are just speculating here, a bit tongue in cheek really to be honest, but you never know. And the game was so gripping it was pretty impossible to turn off halfway through.

One welcome recipient of the decision to bench Chicharito was Danny Welbeck, who was selected ahead of him and received the man-of-the-match award.

There's bad news for Hernandez coming up though. Not only will he have to cheer against his namesake Aaron Hernandez of the Patriots when they face the Ravens on Sunday, but the game's 6pm start almost overlaps the end of United's trip to Tottenham.

Let's hope he has Sky Go and a good wi-fi signal on his iPad for the coach journey back to Manchester after the game.

Is 1.20am too late for a footballer to be up the night before a lunchtime kick-off?

Dan Coombs

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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.

As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.

He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.