Lisandro Martinez injured his knee while challenging Vladimir Coufal for the ball (Photo: Getty)
Lisandro Martinez’s latest injury will derail Manchester United’s season even more, club legend Rio Ferdinand has warned.
United recorded an impressive 3-0 victory over West Ham on Sunday, with one of their most assured and complete performances of the season.
However, it wasn’t all smiles at full-time after Martinez limped off the pitch during the second-half – just a couple of weeks after the centre-back returned from action after a lengthy injury.
One of Erik ten Hag’s key players, United have gravely missed the defender this season, who has made just 10 appearances thanks to a foot injury, and could now be set for another spell on the sidelines.
‘I can’t tell the detail but it seems bad. We can only pray,’ Ten Hag said post match.
‘It’s very bad for him and very bad for the team. He’s just returning and is a very important part for us. Last season, when he fell out, I felt our performances dropped a level.’
Ferdinand is gravely concerned that United won’t be able to replicate the performance against West Ham without the Argentine World Cup winner in the side, with the Red Devils facing a big bight to finish in the top four.
‘He got a little injury. He done his knee. I see he tweaked it. I think that looks like ligaments, man. He tried to carry on and then said, “No, no, no I’ve got to go”,’ the former United defender said on the FIVE podcast.
‘So, listen, if he’s out, it kills it. You can see with him and Luke Shaw on that side, when they’re together, they look so dominant, they look so confident, they look so composed with the ball.
‘And those two are really good with the ball in terms of setting up attacks, the ball generally comes from that side. Any of the good stuff we do, Martinez, even you see for the first goal, he clips it in.
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‘Yes it goes to [Kurt] Zouma and he heads it down and Casemiro intercepts and we get the goal off that, but it’s because Martinez is playing forward, he’s playing forceful passes.
‘So that will be disappointing. We’ve had so many injuries and he’s one of them that’s been out of a while and he’s probably one of our most influential players.’
United are now sixth in the table, eight points off Aston Villa in fourth, with a trip to Villa Park on Sunday next on the agenda.
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