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Man Utd drop hint over Lisandro Martinez injury return

  • Lisandro Martinez working his way back from knee injury
  • Defender called into Argentina squad despite not returning to training
  • Man Utd have agreed to his release

By Sean Walsh

Martinez is edging closer to a return
Martinez is edging closer to a return / Michael Regan/GettyImages
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Manchester United have agreed to release Lisandro Martinez for international duty after being called up for Argentina's fixtures this month despite not yet returning from injury.

Martinez has missed much of the 2023/24 campaign so far. He underwent surgery on a foot problem carried over from last season in September and didn't return until January, but then suffered a knee injury at the start of February and was ruled out for roughly eight weeks.

Though the centre-back has not yet returned to training, he has been called into the Argentina squad for their international friendlies against El Salvador and Costa Rica in the USA.

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Stay up to date with the latest Manchester United news / Visionhaus / Getty Images

The Mail report Martinez is expected to travel and meet up with the Argentina camp on Monday, even though he was not due to make any Premier League return until United's trip to Brentford on March 30 at the earliest. Nevertheless, United have given the green-light to his release.

National teams often demand to themselves assess players whose fitness is questionable and clubs often oblige, so it's not unusual for United to agree to Argentina's request. Martinez is unlikely to play any minutes for La Albiceleste this month though and instead ramp up his recovery to be in contention to face Brentford upon his return to England.

United have stumbled through the season battling several injuries to key players, with Casemiro, Raphael Varane and Mason Mount among their other stars to have missed extended periods.

Performances and results have not lived up to pre-season expectation and United sit sixth in the Premier League, eight points adrift of the top four. Erik ten Hag has routinely pointed to the club's injury crisis as an excuse for their decline.

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