Man Utd offered Lisandro Martinez fitness update with Argentina unlikely to risk defender against Ecuador

• Lisandro injures foot
• Unlikely to play opener against Ecuador
• Could feature against Bolivia

WHAT HAPPENED? In the second half of Manchester United's loss against Arsenal, the defender was replaced by Harry Maguire. After the game, Martinez, 25, immediately boarded a flight out of the UK to meet up with his Argentina teammates for the next international break, leaving Erik ten Hag unaware of the extent of his injury. Providing an update on Martinez’s injury situation, the United boss said in his press conference that the center-back is unlikely to play against Ecuador on Thursday night but could be ready to play against Bolivia next Tuesday.

WHAT THEY SAID: “Licha, as you know, had an issue with his feet,” Scaloni said, per United's website. “By the way, he had surgery a while ago. In the last game, he was in pain, and went out for precaution. They have done studies and he’s well. He’ll be with us if we want to risk him or not. It’s an uncomfortable situation and we have other team-mates who can replace him well.

“It’s not necessary that we risk him. In any case, if he’s available, we’ll evaluate whether to use him or not. At first, for [the Ecuador] match, it’d be a little rushed, we’ll see for the second match.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Argentina's journey to the 2026 World Cup begins when they compete against Bolivia and Ecuador in qualifying games. The United defender was not a starter for the World Cup winners in Qatar as Scaloni preferred starting with Nicolas Otamendi and Cristian Romero.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR MARTINEZ? If the defender is not involved with Argentina in the qualifiers, it is likely that his next involvement will be for United against Brighton on September 16.