Man Utd dealt major injury blow ahead of Aston Villa clash | Football

Lisandro Martinez has suffered a frustrating setback in his return from injury and is expected to miss Manchester United’s clash with Aston Villa this weekend.

The 28-year-old was an ever-present in central defence following Michael Carrick return to Old Trafford, playing every minute of United’s first five matches under the interim manager.

But Martinez went down with a calf problem in training a month ago and has been forced to miss United’s last three Premier League games against Everton, Crystal Palace and Newcastle as a consequence.

Martinez’s absence has coincided with a slight dip in performance after a remarkable start under Carrick, who encountered his first major blip in a 2-1 defeat at St James’ Park last Wednesday.

There had been positive noises that Martinez could recover in time for United’s next clash with fellow top-four hopefuls Villa, but Leny Yoro appears likely to continue his run in the side alongside Harry Maguire at the back.

According to Daily Mail Sport, Martinez suffered a ‘slight reaction’ back on the training ground at Carrington and looks set to sit out Sunday’s high-stakes contest, despite initial hopes the Argentina international would only miss one match.

The report claims that while the issue ‘isn’t too serious’, United do not want to rush Martinez back into the fold are keen to take a cautious approach with his rehabilitation.

The Red Devils find themselves short of options in central defence, with Matthijs de Ligt still yet to play under Carrick having been unavailable since as far back as November.

There had been some suggestions that De Ligt could be able to return to first-team action before the turn of the year, but the Netherlands is still yet to feature three months later.

It remains unclear when exactly the 26-year-old Dutchman will be deemed fit enough to play a part again following his back injury.

Patrick Dorgu, Mason Mount and Noussair Mazroui are also nursing injuries entering a crucial period for United in their battle for Champions League qualification.

Asked if he could provide an update on Martinez’s condition prior to United’s loss to Newcastle, Carrick told reporters: ‘Not particularly really, no.

‘He won’t be with us. He’s not quite ready for that.’

Speaking to United’s in-house media team today, Carrick applauded his players for the response they had shown in training following their setback against Newcastle.

On their upcoming encounter with Villa, he said: ‘It’s an important game. It’s one we’re looking forward to, you know.

‘We’ve manoeuvred ourselves into such a good position now and it’s been a positive couple of months that we want to build on. 

‘We’re coming off the back of losing a game, but it happens, we’ve seen pretty much everyone over recent weeks has lost. So that’s what this league brings and we’re putting things in perspective and understanding what we can do a little bit better. 

‘But the boys have been really good in training again and just looking forward to the next game.’

Victory over Villa this weekend would see third-placed United move points clear of Unai Emery’s men in the table.

The visitors have several injury concerns of their own ahead of the match, with Youri Tielemans, Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Andres Garcia and Harvey Elliot all unlikely to play a part.

Emery will hope the rest of his squad come away unscathed on Thursday night when Villa take on Lille in the first leg of an intriguing Europa League last-16 tie.

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