Manchester United has been saddled with a huge task to qualify for the 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League season after defender Martinez Lisandro was sidelined with an injury.
The player picked up a knee ligament injury and is looking to face at least six weeks out of play.
This is coming shortly after the World Cup winner of Argentina recovered from a foot injury, that has caused him to miss for the majority of the season.
Martinez’s influence was however noticeable, given United’s recent improvement in performance.
The 26-year-old was substituted out of Sunday’s 3-0 victory over West Ham due to a buckling right knee sustained during a collision with Vladimir Coufal during a play for possession.
“Lisandro Martinez has sustained an injury to the medial collateral ligament in his knee and is expected to be out of action for at least eight weeks,” United said in a statement.
“We all wish Licha a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back on the pitch later in the season.”
Martinez is likely to miss the majority of the remaining games of the season, though he might be available for the final seven Premier League games and the FA Cup finals.
“He is very sad, very disappointed,” said United coach Erik Ten Hag after the West Ham game at Old Trafford.
“We feel really with him. First of all, it’s a personal disaster when it’s really bad, but let’s wait for what it is. But also for the team it’s really bad because he definitely brings us a lot.”
United is currently six points behind Tottenham in the Premier League and eight behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who they will play on Sunday.
Finishing in the top four will ensure Manchester United a spot in the Champions League next season. However, finishing fifth may also be sufficient, depending on how English teams fare in the competition this season.
