Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag may have himself to blame for losing Lisandro Martinez for several months as the centre-back was reportedly taking painkillers to continue playing in recent weeks, potentially making his injury even worse. Martinez has suffered a setback in his recovery from a foot injury that he sustained back in April.
The Argentina international missed three months of action after badly injuring his foot against Sevilla. He returned in time for the start of pre-season and was involved from the outset for the beginning of the new campaign.
But he looked uncomfortable against Brighton earlier this month and has been out with an injury ever since. United confirmed on Friday that he’s suffered a recurrence of the same injury from five months ago.
According to the Daily Mail, Martinez will likely face three months out to try and fully recover from the issue. It’s said that Martinez will undergo surgery on Monday to begin the recovery process.
The report also adds that United may not have helped the situation as Martinez was taking painkillers to play against both Bayern Munich and Brighton. Martinez’s injury setback now raises questions on whether Ten Hag made the right call in risking the Argentine’s fitness by playing the centre-back.
“We did a proper diagnosis, in Argentina as well, but now it came out that there was a problem. That’s very sad, for him and the team, because he was not 100 per cent fit,” Ten Hag said on Friday. “I think it was a big difference the Licha Martinez in the last games and the Licha Martinez we have seen in the first season here.
“He will add to the team, a really strong contributor to our levels and if already one player drops a level, the team performance will be lower.” While Martinez suffered his setback, Raphael Varane made his return to United’s Premier League starting line-up against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
