Lisandro Martínez will no longer play for Manchester United this season, the usually reliable report The Athletic Friday evening. The first examinations of his right foot do not look good. At the moment, the question is whether the 25-year-old defender needs surgery or whether the injury should recover naturally. For manager Erik ten Hag, Martínez’s injury comes at a bad time, as Raphaël Varane was also injured on Thursday.
Martínez was injured in the final phase of the Europa League match with Sevilla (2-2) on Thursday evening and had to be carried to the side by some compatriots. Without an opponent around, Martínez grabbed his foot shortly after the 2-1. The injury was so serious that the Argentinian could not leave the field on his own. Fellow world champions Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna of Sevilla carried their compatriot to the sideline, a move that was appreciated by the crowd at Old Trafford. At first it was thought to be a serious Achilles tendon injury, but that was debunked by Ten Hag. By reporting The Athletic the injury appears to be serious.
In addition to Martínez, Varane also had to retire early. The Frenchman was left injured in the dressing room halfway through the game. His replacement, Harry Maguire, played an unfortunate leading role in the closing minutes. The central defender unluckily headed the ball behind David de Gea the Mancunians next week have to pull out all the stops to reach the last four of the Europa League. Varane’s muscle injury is still under investigation.
United return to action in the Premier League on Sunday. Ten Hag and his team will then compete against Nottingham Forest. The manager will have to do a lot of puzzles to form a starting eleven, which is the rag basket the Red Devils is quite filled. Ten Hag cannot have Alejandro Garnacho (foot injury), Tom Heaton (ankle injury), Martínez (foot injury), Varane (muscle injury), Marcus Rashford (muscle injury) and Donny van de Beek (knee injury) in Nottingham. Luke Shaw (thigh injury) and Scott McTominay (health issues) are still in doubt.