Man Utd fears eased as France boss Deschamps delivers Martial injury update

Didier Deschamps has delivered an update on Anthony Martial's injury ahead of France's clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Manchester United forward was forced off the pitch with a knee issue during Les Bleus' 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan last weekend.

Martial may be unavailable for France's final World Cup qualifier of the international break but Deschamps is adamant that the problem isn't "anything serious", which will come as a relief to Manchester United.

What's been said?

“Anthony has a small issue on his knee. Nothing is decided yet [as to whether he can face Bosnia-Herzegovina],” The France head coach said at a pre-match press conference.

“He won’t be taking part in the training session a bit later. We’ll see tomorrow (Wednesday). Anything serious has been dismissed.

“We’ve run some tests, but there’s still the pain, and having travelled as long as we have, that hasn’t helped.”

Will Martial be available for Man Utd?

If Martial does sit out Wednesday's fixture against Bosnia-Herzegovina, it remains to be seen whether the Frenchman will then be unavailable for the resumption of the Premier League.

The Red Devils welcome Brighton to Old Trafford on Sunday as they continue to attempt to keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the table, and they cannot afford any slip-ups with Leicester City and Chelsea breathing down their necks.

However, with Deschamps admitting Martial's injury isn't anything too serious, there is every chance the forward will be available to face Brighton, with their Europa League quarter-final against Granada following four days after.

How has Martial performed in 2020-21?

Martial hit a career-high 23 goals across all competitions last season for United, and he was expected to build on that platform and nail down the No.9 role in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's starting XI.

The Frenchman has, however, been unable to reach the same high standards this term, with his position coming under threat from veteran frontman Edinson Cavani.

Martial has seven goals to his name from 36 appearances in all competitions so far this season, with four of them coming in the Premier League.

Further reading

• Matic trolls Ronaldo & Bruno over disallowed goal vs Serbia

• Christos Tzolis: Greek wonderkid linked with Man Utd move

• Haaland always had personality to reach the top - Solskjaer