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Manchester United’s campaign has been severely hampered by injuries, none more devastating than the one suffered by Lisandro Martinez at the start of the season.
The Argentine tried to keep playing on by taking painkillers but his displays were not at the level expected and the pain became too much and he was forced to undergo an operation on the same foot that he had injured at the business-end of last season.
He ended up missing 22 games before finally returning against Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the year. It took another four games before another unfortunate injury befell the World Cup winner against West Ham.
A knee injury after an off-the-field clash with Vladimír Coufal has forced the 26-year-old to miss 10 games with the hope that he will be fit for United’s return to Premier League action against Brentford on March 30.
Licha’s injury
The centre-back was called up for international duty and the former Ajax star was seen training with his national teammates as part of his rehabilitation.
United prefered this as it would expose him to a different style of training for a few days while Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni wanted the group to be together for the last international break ahead of this summer’s Copa America.
As reported by The Daily Mail, Martinez is set to fly back to Manchester on Saturday and will resume training with his club with an eye on the game against the Bees.
“Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has cut short his call-up with Argentina’s national squad and will return to England on Saturday.
“United initially allowed Martinez to link up with the World Cup winners to give him a boost in his recovery programme and in the knowledge they would have varied, high-level training sessions.
Close to comeback
“Like his counterpart at Manchester United Erik ten Hag, Argentina boss Scaloni considers Martinez an important component to his squad and wanted to ensure he still felt part of their plans for what was his country’s last get-together before the Copa America tournament in June.”
This seems to have been pre-agreed between the club and the Argentine FA. United have adopted similar workload management methods with skipper Bruno Fernandes as well as the recently fit-again Rasmus Hojlund.
The Red Devils have severely missed the former Defensa star both on and off the pitch and his return will be a huge boost ahead of the business-end of the season.
United are fighting to finish in the top-four in the Premier League while looking to go one better in the FA Cup. Ten Hag needs his defensive general back and firing if the club is to accomplish their goals.
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