.png)
4 hours ago
6 Manchester United confirmed this morning that, as suspected, Lisandro Martinez had sustained a cruciate ligament injury.
Presumably, the integral centre-half will miss the remainder of the campaign in what comes as a substantial blow to Ruben Amorim, who’s doing his utmost to salvage something from the Reds’ torrid season.
Martinez pulled up during last Sunday’s defeat to Crystal Palace and dropped to the floor after evidently feeling a non-contact issue in his knee. He was eventually stretchered off, in tears and inconsolable while doing so, prompting fans to fear the worst.
He has endured a lengthy list of injury setbacks since swapping Ajax for United back in 2022 – as has his defensive counterpart Luke Shaw, whose unrelenting fitness issues have seemingly struck again this week.
As well as Martinez: Shaw suffers another setback
Shaw’s last Premier League start came on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)Reports suggested in recent days that the left-back had suffered a knock during his rehabilitation from his latest issue, which he picked up in just his third appearance of the term last December.
Should Shaw be ruled out of the next two fixtures, an FA Cup tie at home to Leicester City followed by an away league clash against Tottenham Hotspur, he’ll have gone a full year without making a start for the club.
Amorim addressed the sidelined duo’s conditions in his press conference today, telling reporters: “Licha is in a difficult situation. He’s going to be out for a while. We don’t know the extent of the injury, but it’s going to take time. Luke has one small issue in a different area from the last injury, so we try to be careful with Luke.”
As such, responsibility will be on Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, and the returning Victor Lindelof (Jonny Evans remains unavailable) to fill Martinez’s void. On the left-hand side of the defence, Patrick Dorgu is primed for his debut whenever the boss decides to call on him.
