Manchester United are set to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday on the back of two consecutive victories but manager Erik ten Hag still has major injury problems to deal with.
It seemed like the injury cloud was clearing as Raphael Varane made a solid comeback while Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat all made it through without any repercussions against the Eagles in midweek.
But now, United have issued an official update on Lisandro Martinez stating that the centre-back is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.
Lisandro suffers recurrence of last season’s injury
The Argentine had missed the games against Burnley and Palace and the official stance was that he was feeling discomfort on the part of the foot where he was injured last season.
The 25-year-old had to be stretchered off against Sevilla in the Europa League last season and missed the rest of the season.
He did come back for pre-season but seems to have suffered a recurrence of the injury in the clash against Arsenal.
The Argentina international managed to play on against Brighton and Bayern Munich and as noted by fans and pundits, he was not at his best and now it is clear why that was the case.
“Lisandro Martinez will be out of action for an extended period due to an aggravation of the foot injury he suffered in April.
Lisandro Martinez will be out for an extended period due to an aggravation of foot injury he suffered in April. Martinez suffered the setback v Arsenal, played on v Brighton + Bayern, but needs rest. Could be same length of time as original absence (three months). #MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) September 29, 2023
“It has now been determined that he needs a period on the sidelines for recovery and rehabilitation. Assessment is ongoing to decide next steps,” the club announced.
The Athletic have now claimed that the injury is worse than previously thought and the World Cup winner could be out for as long as three months.
Three months out, can United cope?
“Lisandro Martinez will be out for an extended period due to an aggravation of foot injury he suffered in April. Martinez suffered the setback v Arsenal, played on v Brighton + Bayern, but needs rest.
“Could be same length of time as original absence (three months),” Laurie Whitwell tweeted.
This is very bad news for Ten Hag as he prefers the left-footed profile and with Luke Shaw also missing, either Victor Lindelof or Jonny Evans will have to fill in.
Even Raphael Varane is injury-prone so it will be quite a challenge to deal with a hectic schedule, especially with so much pressure being put on the team by the British media.