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FootballMan Utd: Martinez and Lindelof out for a month as Ten Hag's...

Man Utd: Martinez and Lindelof out for a month as Ten Hag’s injury concerns mount

Manchester United defenders Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof will both be sidelined for around a month after sustaining muscle injuries.

Lindelof was substituted during the second half of United’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Brentford on Saturday with a hamstring injury, which is expected to keep him out for the rest of April.

Martinez took Lindelof’s place with 21 minutes to play in what represented the Argentine’s first appearance since early February.

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However, the Red Devils have confirmed Martinez subsequently suffered a calf strain in training and will now join Lindelof in the treatment room.

Martinez has endured a frustrating second season at Old Trafford, being limited to just 11 appearances totalling 758 minutes across all competitions this campaign.

After seeing his 2022-23 season cut short by a broken metatarsal, Martinez was forced to undergo further surgery on his foot in October and missed around four months.

He returned in January’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham but only played three further matches before suffering a knee injury, which kept him out until Saturday’s trip to West London.

The injuries represent further blows to United’s hopes of Champions League qualification, with Erik ten Hag juggling numerous selection issues ahead of Thursday’s trip to Chelsea.

Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Martial are long-term absentees, while Jonny Evans has been nursing an injury for several weeks and Raphael Varane was also taken off as a precaution on Saturday.

Those concerns over Evans and Varane have opened up the prospect of Harry Maguire being United’s only senior centre-back available on Thursday, with 19-year-old Willy Kambwala coming into contention.

Harry Carr
Harry Carr
Harry is a freelance sports journalist with experience of working for the Racing Post, Stats Perform, Opta Analyst and more, covering major events across all sports but holding a particular love for the beautiful game.
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