Injury Lisandro Martinez: The season of the Manchester United defender is over, now manager Erik ten Hag has to adapt

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By Webdesk



Lisandro Martinez’s first season at Manchester United came to a disappointing end on Thursday. He will be sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken metatarsal bone, the team announced on Friday. Now that the Red Devils are still playing in three competitions, Erik ten Hag has been given a difficult position due to a new blow in depth. Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane, Luke ShawAlejandro Garnacho and Martinez are all sidelined for varying amounts of time as United’s games come under pressure.

“While Lisandro’s first season at United sadly came to an early end, it will remain a memorable season for the centre-back. He has made 45 appearances for clubs, establishing himself as a firm fan favorite and the team has helped to win the Carabao Cup,” said Manchester United. United said in a club statement. “In December, Martinez became only the fifth United player to win the World Cup, as Argentina beat France in the 2022 Qatar final.”

While they have to deal with a threat of relegation Nottingham Forest team Saturday, the Seville team that made a comeback at Old Trafford are also close to the relegation zone in La Liga. Ten Hag will also have to consider a second leg against Sevilla on April 20 before facing Brighton in the FA Cup on April 23. United are a club that have been dreaming of a treble, but with key players missing on the field, they risk falling out of the remaining competitions if a critical clash in the top four races looms against Tottenham on April 27.

Just over two weeks could determine the outcome of the entire season and one of United’s most crucial defensive pieces will be unavailable.

Like United, Marinez’s season got off to a rocky start, but once he got going he’s been able to cover a huge amount of ground in defence. Behind a shield from Casemiro and next to a regular Varane, United were able to run and if they scored the first goal, the game would be over. Even when the team made mistakes, they had enough defense to make amends and keep the offense going.

But with their depth diminishing before ten Hag’s eyes, how can he navigate this trajectory? Wout Weghorst has yet to score a Premier League goal for United, the defense is suspicious with Maguire in the middle and the chance creation goes down without Shaw.

Ten Hag has been praised for his in-game adjustments for United, but it will be his biggest achievement yet to get through this current run of matches unscathed. In a team built on pressing, can they adapt to win matches in a more conservative fashion? The top four and in turn the kind of players they can target over the summer will hang in the balance.





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