- Martinez aggravated foot injury against Arsenal
- Will undergo surgery
- Sidelined until next year
WHAT HAPPENED? According to The Athletic, the Argentine defender will be out of action for around three months after being pencilled in for another round of surgery on a foot injury. Martinez missed almost two months of the 2022-23 season after he underwent surgery to fix a broken metatarsal in his right foot that he suffered during a Europa League tie against Sevilla.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Martinez returned in pre-season but went off again during United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal earlier in September after he felt pain in the same area. Although he returned to action against Brighton in the Premier League and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the niggling issue with the metatarsal remains. Now the club's medical team has decided that it would be best for him to undergo a second surgery to recover completely from the long-standing injury.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Erik ten Hag is facing a defensive crisis at United as several players, including full-backs Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Sergio Reguilon, are currently out injured. He has been forced to use defensive midfielder Sofyan Amrabat as a make-shift left-back with Raphael Varane pairing with Victor Lindelof at the heart of defence.