‘It doesn’t look good’

Published 04/02/2024 at 23:49 GMT

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez appears poised for a second lengthy spell on the sidelines after his manager Erik Ten Hag confirmed that his knee injury “doesn’t look good” on Sunday evening. Martinez limped off during an otherwise successful outing for United against West Ham, having only recently returned from 22 games out with a foot injury.Martinez injury ‘doesn’t look good’ – Ten Hag reacts after United win over West Ham

Manchester United defender LIsandro Martinez appears set for a second lengthy spell on the sidelines after manager Erik Ten Hag’s latest statement on Sunday.

Ten Hag said: “It doesn’t look good.”

Continuing, the former Ajax boss explained: “There is a bad concern. We have to wait for a few days for the diagnosis.

“He is very sad, very disappointed. We all feel really with him. First of all, it is a personal disaster when it is really bad, but also for the team it is really bad because he definitely brings us a lot.”

United have endured a flurry of injuries this season, but fellow defenders Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are reportedly close to returning.

While the Red Devils have been compelled to select something of an improvised line-up at times this season, that is no longer the case as Ten Hag himself observed.

He said: “We have times in the season where every time we have to adapt to put an XI out and now in this moment, we don’t have.

“But then the injury is coming from Licha Martinez, so I hope we are not going back in such a process, we want to stay away from it.”

Martinez missed 22 games earlier in the season with a foot injury, returning last month in United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford.

A key part of United’s defensive setup, a second significant injury would be a real blow to their ambitions.

While an ultimate diagnosis is yet to come, United team-mate Diogo Dalot hinted at the injury’s severity with a sombre Instagram post on Sunday.

The text of the post read: “Your pain is our pain. You will be back soon my brother.”

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