Manchester United have confirmed that Lisandro Mart\u00ednez sustained a cruciate ligament injury in Sunday\u2019s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace, ruling out the defender until next season.<\/p>\n
Mart\u00ednez was hurt after 82 minutes and had to be taken off on a stretcher after treatment.<\/p>\n
A club statement said: \u201cManchester United can confirm that Lisandro Mart\u00ednez suffered an injury to his cruciate ligament in Sunday\u2019s game against Crystal Palace. Assessment of the injury is ongoing to determine the appropriate course of treatment and the timescale for his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
Everyone at Manchester United wishes Lisandro Mart\u00ednez strength for a successful recovery and we will be supporting him every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The injury came nearly a year to the day after Mart\u00ednez sustained medial collateral ligament damage to a knee during the 3-0 win over West Ham at Old Trafford on 4 February. He returned for the 1-1 draw at Brentford on 30 March but was forced off with a calf problem that ruled him out for another six weeks.<\/p>\n
Ruben Amorim said: \u201cHe\u2019s going to be out for a while. We don\u2019t know the extent of the injury but it\u2019s going to take time.\u201d United\u2019s head coach also said it was appropriate to be \u201ccareful\u201d with Luke Shaw because the defender had a \u201csmall issue in a different area from the last injury\u201d.
\nArmorim accepted he would be blamed, after not bringing in experienced players in the winter window, if results do not improve. \u201cThat is clear, is also exciting,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew when I chose this profession that you have the risk of results and I knew when I came here I look at the schedule, I look at the team, my decision changing everything in the middle of the season without new signings is a danger for a coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have a clear idea of what I want to do and I take these risks because in the end it\u2019s going to pay off. But I\u2019m not naive. I said that many times, this is a sport of results and we are in a difficult situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a brutal blow for both Lisandro Mart\u00ednez and Manchester United. A cruciate ligament injury is one of the most serious setbacks a player can face, and for Mart\u00ednez \u2014 who\u2019s already endured a tough injury-plagued season \u2014 this is incredibly unfortunate. The timing couldn\u2019t be worse either, just as United are fighting to salvage something from a turbulent campaign.<\/p>\n
R\u00faben Amorim\u2019s comments reflect the pressure he\u2019s under. Taking over mid-season without reinforcements was always going to be a gamble, and losing one of the team\u2019s key leaders in Mart\u00ednez only compounds the challenge. His mention of Luke Shaw also signals the club\u2019s defensive issues are far from over, especially if caution is needed with his fitness too.<\/p>\n
Do you think United should accelerate their search for another centre-back this summer? Someone like Matthijs de Ligt or Jarrad Branthwaite could suddenly become even more vital now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manchester United have confirmed that Lisandro Mart\u00ednez sustained a cruciate ligament injury in Sunday\u2019s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace, ruling out the defender<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":51151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n