Manchester United’s Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez had to suffer from bad luck. Recently recovered from a long injury, the 26-year-old was injured again during Man United’s 3-0 win over West Ham United in the Premier League.
“He is very sad, very disappointed. We all feel very much with him. First of all, it’s a personal disaster when his condition is so bad, but also for the team, it’s very bad because he definitely gives a lot to us,” explained Erik ten Hag on his recent injury.
“It seems bad, we have to wait and make a proper diagnosis. Right now we are very sad, hopefully, it’s not too bad, but we can only pray.”
After further examination, Martinez suffered a ligament injury to his knee and he will be out for at least eight weeks – approximately two months. The news was confirmed by Man United’s official website.
“Lisandro Martinez has injured the medial collateral ligament in his knee and is expected to be out for at least eight weeks,” read a statement from Man United.
“The Argentine defender left the field in the 71st minute of our 3-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford on Sunday.”
“We all wish Licha a speedy recovery and hope to see him back playing at the end of the season.”
The news was a blow for Man United, as Martinez is the club’s mainstay defender and Ten Hag’s first choice at the back. Not only straightforward in defense, the player nicknamed The Butcher also suits Ten Hag’s style of play through the way he builds attacks from the back.
Since arriving at Man United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022, Martinez has relatively often missed long periods due to injury. Quoted from Transfermarkt, Martinez missed 77 days when he was injured with a fractured metatarsal from April 2023 to June 2023.
Then, in the 2023-2024 season Martinez was out for 105 days from September 2023 to January 2024 with a foot injury, missing 22 matches.