Martinez to miss months after reaggravating foot injury

Manchester United and Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez will undergo a second operation on his broken metatarsal. The injury first suffered against Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League last Spring was re-aggravated, and will likely sideline Martinez for at least 2-3 months.

Martinez will reportedly have surgery on Monday, with late December the most optimistic timeline for his return to training and fitness. He missed the rest of the 2022/23 season due to the injury, and now appears set to miss much of the 2023/24 campaign as well.

Martinez was a regular throughout the preseason for Manchester United, touring with the club through European and United States matches. His return to action may have been a bit premature, and now he’ll be missed by a United defense which has struggled early this season.

“The squad will miss him,” Erik ten Hag said in his Monday press conference, confirming the reports that Martinez will undergo a second operation. “As you know, we have more injuries, so we always have to deal with it as a squad. As a club, we have to deal with injuries.”

United have continued to deal with injuries since the preseason, with five players currently out and Mason Mount and Harry Maguire both making their return to fitness after brief spells out. Additionally, Jadon Sancho is unavailable due to a very public disagreement with ten Hag, and Antony was excluded from selection after facing multiple allegations of domestic abuse. He was dropped from the Brazil squad as well, but now is confirmed by ten Hag as available for selection again after only a short spell away.