Manchester United appear to be in for a long, bumpy season, with Lisandro Martinez being the latest defender to suffer a potential long-term injury. United suffered another Premier League defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday, compounding the club’s early-season woes in all competitions.
United have had to deal with injuries to first-team players like Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Sergio Reguilon, and adding Lisandro Martinez to that list means Erik Ten Hag has limited options at the back. The World Cup winner is now set to undergo surgery that could potentially cost him half of the football season.
Lisandro Martinez to undergo surgery
Lisandro Martinez was brought in from Ajax last season to bolster United’s defence. The Argentine did wonders at the back in his debut season, forming a great partnership with Raphael Varane and helping David De Gea keep the most clean sheets in the league. However, this season hasn’t been good for the World Cup winner, as he has been part of the defence that has shipped in many goals.
A foot injury sustained at the end of last season has returned to haunt the former Ajax defender. Martinez is reported to have been playing through the pain with the help of painkillers, which aggravated the injury. The versatile defender is now set for some time on the sideline, and according to Fabrizio Romano, a second injury on his broken metatarsal will occur in the coming weeks.
In Martinez’s absence, Erik Ten Hag will give 35-year-old Johnny Evans more opportunity to feature in the team. Sadly, Raphael Varane’s injury history is also a cause for concern. If the Frenchman gets injured again, it means United will continue the season without their first-choice centre-back pairing, leaving them with only three senior center-backs: Victor Lindelof, Johnny Evans, and Harry Maguire.
Possible timeline of recovery for the Argentine
Injuries have plagued United’s season so far. Lisandro Martinez’s addition to the injury list is a further blow to the team already suffering in the league with four defeats in seven games. The Argentine is set to undergo surgery on his foot and could miss up to four months of football while trying to get back to full fitness.
Erik Ten Hag will be scratching his head at the prospect of losing his best defender at this point in the season. Injury-prone Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof will now form a new center-back pairing for the Dutchman, but the former’s injury history means that Ten Hag has to be prepared for more bad news.
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