Erik ten Hag has described the knee injury that Lisandro Martinez sustained during Manchester United’s side’s 3-0 victory over West Ham United as a “personal disaster.”
The 26-year-old picked was injured in the 68th minute in a collision with West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal. He was substituted and replaced by Raphael Varane.
The Argentina international only returned in January from a foot injury that kept him sidelined for four months earlier in the season.
Ten Hag said: “I can’t say but it doesn’t look good. There is a bad concern. We have to wait for a few days for the diagnosis. We do everything to get the right diagnosis and see what is the damage.
“He is very sad, very disappointed. We all feel really with him. First of all it is a personal disaster when it is really bad but also for the team it is really bad because he definitely brings us a lot.”
Martinez has struggled with injury issues since joining United from Ajax in the summer of 2022. He underwent surgery on a broken metatarsal injury towards the end of the 2022-23 season.
However, despite Martinez’s injury, Ten Hag remained upbeat about his side’s victory, which was spearheaded by United’s young players.
Days after a 97th-minute winner from 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo secured all three points against Wolverhampton Wanderers, 21-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund scored United’s first goal against West Ham with the other two being scored by 19-year-old Alejandro Garnacho.
The trio celebrated together after Hojlund’s opener, and Ten Hag was full of praise for his young players’ performance at Old Trafford.
He said: “Yeah of course, but that was our plan (three youngsters)before the season because we saw the potential from those players but they need of course games, they need experience and the only way you can get it is to play in the first team.
“They have the right attitude and when you have the attitude to improve every day, I am convinced they can achieve high levels but they need experienced players who have achieved everything to help them and put them in the right positions and right attitude.”
United are next in action against Aston Villa at Villa Park on February 11.
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The Briefing: Manchester United 3 West Ham 0 – Martinez injury worry puts dampener on win
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