When will Lisandro Martinez return for Man Utd? Injured centre-back provides positive update but calls for patience amid defensive crisis

Martinez suffered an injury early in the season when, after just four games, he re-aggravated a previous foot injury which he had surgery on. The World Cup winner is still aiming for a return and he has also been spotted training at Carrington in late November. In an interview with club media, the Argentine shared a positive update on his return.

Martinez said: "Well, I am really good, I am really good, honestly. My rehab is going amazingly, in the way that I want, I am feeling strong, doing everything right with Ibra [Ibrahim Kerem] the physio, he has been amazing. And also the medical department, they take care of me from day one so it was really important. Yeah, all is perfect for me. Definitely, we need to be patient, we need to be patient. I know that I will be back soon, very soon.

"It takes time, we need to be patient. It is tough, especially when you had two injuries, almost six or seven months, it is really tough. But I feel strong in my mind. I get good values from my family, to never give up, so this has only made me even stronger. It is part of football also and we need to accept it, be humble. It is a time to work even harder, in the gym, improving, doing analysis, doing tactics, in the things that we can improve on the pitch. As a person as well, I love to improve that part because, for everybody, if you improve then automatically you will see it on the pitch. I love this club and I love this place."

Erik ten Hag has suffered with a bit of an injury crisis in his defence as he has seen injuries to all of his first-team centre-backs bar Jonny Evans. Currently, he only has the veteran and Raphael Varane fit to start and has also had to delve into the youth setup to cover at the back with Willy Kambwala having made his debut recently.

The Red Devils will be in action on Saturday, December 30 when they take on Nottingham Forest as they look to build on their comeback win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.