The defender of Manchester United, Lisandro Martinez, is expected to be out of action for a period of 2-3 months. The news was announced by Manchester United itself through an official statement. The Argentinian defender is one of the most important players at Old Trafford, and manager Ten Hag must be thinking about yet another absence on the pitch. We recall that Martinez also missed the end of last season due to an injury.
In the official statement, United stated that Martinez was first injured in the challenge against Arsenal a few weeks ago. The defender will now be sidelined due to the aggravation of the injury. The club staff said:
"It has already been determined that he (Martinez) needs a period outside the field to recover and rehabilitate. Analysis is ongoing to determine what the next step will be."
Coach Ten Hag also commented on Martinez's injury expressing his regret:
"This is an unfortunate situation, for him and for the team, as he was not 100% in the best physical condition. I think there was a big difference between the Martinez we've seen in recent games and the Martinez we saw last season."
The Argentine defender was active in the matches against Wolves, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, as well as Arsenal. The player did not feature in United's wins over Burnley and Crystal Palace. Martinez joined United last year from Ajax for £57million. The defender was instrumental in United's success in the Carabao Cup last season, as well as their third-place finish in the Premier League.
It remains to be seen what Ten Hag's new schemes will be in the defensive department, now that the options are still more limited.
