Lisandro Martinez to undergo foot surgery ahead of three-month layoff
- Man Utd likely to be without Lisandro Martinez until 2024
- Argentine's metatarsal has not healed correctly after surgery last season
- Erik ten Hag's injury crisis continues with loss of star defender
By Sean Walsh
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez will undergo surgery on his foot again to try and resolve a recurrent metatarsal problem.
Martinez first damaged this particular bone during the Red Devils' Europa League quarter-final first leg against Sevilla last season. He went on to miss the final two months of the campaign.
Though he was able to return for pre-season and United's opening games of the 2023/24 campaign, the club confirmed on Friday that he had suffered a recurrence of the injury and would face an unspecified spell on the sidelines.
The Daily Mail now report that Martinez is due to undergo surgery on Monday in order to resolve the problem and he will be ruled out for the next three months, meaning it is unlikely he will play again in 2023.
The report adds that after hobbling off in United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal prior to the September international break, Martinez used painkillers in order to play through discomfort in subsequent defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and then Bayern Munich.
After undergoing further tests this week, United realised Martinez's foot had not healed correctly and further surgery would be required to fix it.
United manager Erik ten Hag expressed sympathy for his star defender upon finding out he would miss another extended period.
"That's really sad, disappointing news," Ten Hag said to MUTV. "He has to go through the same process and I'm really sorry for him.
"The squad will miss him. 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.
"He has to be strong. He will fight back, I'm sure. He is a character.
"There is still a long season ahead and he will be fit. We have to do our job, to get ourselves in the right position, so he can contribute, and add quality, when he returns."
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