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Injuries have been the recurring theme of Manchester United’s season, but perhaps no injury has impacted their levels as much as that of Lisandro Martínez.
The Argentine is not just a combative defender, he is a crucial part of the build-up and a key cog in what Erik ten Hag regularly calls the XI’s “routines”.
Martínez has been missing since coming off during the match in Munich on September 20 when he re-injured his foot.
He has been suffering from metatarsal injuries since the end of last season and there were hopes he would be a key contributor this year after a good pre-season.
However, after missing nearly four months of action, Martinez recently sat down with the club’s website to provide an injury update.
He said he feels “really well” and that “rehabilitation is going great.” He credited the physiotherapists and medical department for taking care of him from day one.
As for his return, the coach recently expressed optimism that he will have his star defender back in January.
Martínez did not give an exact date but still remained optimistic about a “soon” return.
He said, “We definitely have to be patient, we have to be patient,” he says. “I know I will be back soon, very soon. It takes time, we must be patient.”
During his absence, the team was already out of two competitions: the Carabao Cup and the Champions League.
However, with a top four place at stake in the league as well as the FA Cup on the horizon, he could return at the perfect time to help the team launch an assault in these two competitions.
He said: “My mentality is to win everything. Surely we are now out of the Champions League and we are disappointed, but now we need to win every game. “We need to fight, we have to go for the FA Cup, we have to achieve everything we can.”
