Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury in a major blow for Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils have relied heavily on the Argentinian this season, and news of his absence could not have hit at a worse time, with United locked in battle for the top four, and an FA Cup semi-final against Brighton scheduled for next week.
The 25-year-old limped off injured during Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday.
Martinez fell to the floor holding his right boot and had to be carried off the pitch by Sevilla players with less than five minutes of normal time left to play.
Manchester United confirmed the news via their club website in a statement which read: “Lisandro Martinez has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after fracturing a metatarsal bone in his foot.”
To make matters worse, fellow central defender Raphael Varane was also forced off with a foot problem, plunging Ten Hag’s hopes of silverware into further jeopardy.
While The Athletic’s David Ornstein was not too upbeat about the Frenchman’s condition, suggesting that he, too, could miss the rest of the campaign.
“There are concerns his campaign could be over but the club are hopeful that does not also prove the case,” Ornstein said of Varane.
It has been a whirlwind 24 hours for supporters who saw their side blow a 2-0 lead in calamitous circumstances against Sevilla.
Tyrell Malacia’s own-goal was followed by a deflection off substitute Harry Maguire, which also ended up in the back of David De Gea’s net, undoing all of the team’s hard work.
Should Varane be ruled out of action, Ten Hag will be forced to turn to Maguire and Victor Lindelof as his first choice centre-backs, with the Red Devils due to play Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
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