Manchester United have been beyond awful in the 2025/26 Premier League season, and right now at the October international break, the Red Devils sit in 10th in the Premier League.
It honestly feels like they are fortunate to be that high in the table, though, as they have suffered some high-profile and truly embarrassing losses, including an immediate League Cup exit to lowly Grimsby Town.
So Manchester United can certainly use all the good news they can get, especially fans clearly aren’t going to get any positivity on the Ruben Amorim front with how stubborn the Portuguese manager is.
In the latest glimmer of hope for Manchester United, Simon Jones and Gethin Hicks of the Daily Mail report that star center back Lisandro Martinez will return to training for the Red Devils after the October international break.
Returning to Manchester United from a serious injury
Martinez has been missing for Manchester United since February when he tore his ACL in a match against Crystal Palace, and while the Red Devils have quality center backs, Martinez has honestly been their best defender since joining the club from Ajax in 2022.
One of the few players to be a hit in the dreadful Erik ten Hag era, Martinez has been eased back thus far by Manchester United, and the signings of Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro last summer have been a big part of Man United not suffering as much without him.
De Ligt and Yoro have been strong this season, but the back three will be that much stronger with Martinez slotting in, as he’d obviously be a massive upgrade over Luke Shaw, who truly has no business starting for Manchester United as a center back in the year 2025.
Martinez is a bulldog defensively and helps a lot in terms of ball progression, even more than either De Ligt or Yoro. So having him back soon would be a big help from that vantage point as well.
After the October international break, Manchester United will face off against rivals Liverpool on Oct. 19 and then another tough Premier League opponent in Bright on Oct. 25.
Clearly, Manchester United could use Martinez for either matchup, but returning to first-team training isn’t the same as returning the pitch for a full-time game. Martinez may need even more time than that to be ready for matches.
A November return for Martinez would be massive, though, and if he’s able to get in to face old Europa League Final opponents Tottenham on Nov. 8, then that would be fantastic from a Man United perspective.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.