Man Utd defender Lisandro Martinez has been absent since suffering a serious knee injury at the start of the year.
Lisandro Martinez
Man United defender Lisandro Martinez is close to a return to action
(Image: @lisandromartinezzz)
Some good news at Manchester United: Lisandro Martinez is close to a return from injury.
On Wednesday, Martinez uploaded a photo of himself running on grass at Carrington alongside United physiotherapist Ibrahim Kerem, suggesting his return to full training is imminent.
The Manchester Evening News revealed in July that Martinez was progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury, which raised the possibility of a return to action in the autumn.
Martinez's knee buckled when he fell to the ground against Crystal Palace at the beginning of February, and it was confirmed he had suffered an injury to his cruciate ligament.
United will continue to carefully handle Martinez as he enters the latter stages of rehabilitation and he will only be available for selection again when medical staff deem him to be fully fit and ready.
But the sight of Martinez skipping along the turf at Carrington is a huge boost, as the next step will be returning to full team training. United have missed Martinez and it will be great to see him available again.
Martinez was spotted on a handful of matchdays at the end of last season. The 27-year-old joined the celebrations after beating Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford and he arrived with the squad, wearing a Paul Smith club suit, at the Estadio de San Mames for the Europa League final against Tottenham.
The defender also took part in the lap of appreciation at Old Trafford on the final day of the season. He was joined by his wife and newborn and was spotted waving at supporters.
Martinez travelled to the United States this summer to continue his rehabilitation programme around the squad, which allowed him to still feel part of the group during his recovery.
The Argentina international has had the challenge of overcoming a handful of injuries during his time in Manchester and will soon face the task of trying to win back his starting role in the XI.
Diogo Dalot of Manchester United looks on as Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United is treated for injury.
Martinez picked up a knee injury against Palace earlier this year
Leny Yoro played on the left side of the back-three at the end of last season and delivered strong performances. The presumption was Yoro would continue in that position this term, but he has been permenantly relcoated to the right, with Luke Shaw chosen to start on the opposite side.
Shaw was poor in the Manchester derby defeat, leading to calls to remove him from the starting XI and Martinez has an easier task to earn his role back now he is contending with Shaw.
Martinez will be eased back into action gently, but if he can reproduce the kind of form that established him as a fan favourite then he will be able to lock down the left-sided role.
Shaw could have done better for each of Manchester City's goals. He had performed well up until that game, but most would agree that Martinez is a better fit for the role.
Martinez is a natural centre-back and Shaw has been playing as an auxiliary left-sided central defender. It's been interesting that Amorim has not considered Shaw as a serious option for left wing-back.
The potential spanner in the works is that Martinez still needs to prove he is still the same player who won fans' hearts in 2022/2023. Martinez was outstanding in his first season, however, he has suffered injuries and hasn't strung together a similarly consistent run of performances.
Having said that, there were positive glimmers last winter with Martinez showing a different side of his game by contributing four goal involvements between mid-December and January.
Martinez's pass for Amad's winner at the Etihad was exceptional and his goal against Liverpool at Anfield was another highlight. United have missed Martinez's proactiveness and his spirit in the dressing room.
United fans will be delighted to hear that Martinez is almost available again, especially after a miserable few weeks.