Lisandro Martinez has been out of action for Man Utd since suffering a serious knee injury at the beginning of the year.
Martinez is recovering from a knee injury.(Image: MUTV)
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Lisandro Martinez is closing in on a return to Manchester United training as he reaches the final stages of his recovery from a knee injury.
Martinez's knee buckled when he fell to the ground against Crystal Palace at the beginning of February, and it was confirmed that he had suffered an injury to his cruciate ligament.
The defender has been carefully handled during the rehabilitation process and he is now understood to be not far off returning to full group training after a period of working individually on grass.
United will not take any risks with Martinez, so his return to a matchday squad is not imminent, but he could be available for selection again just before the November international break.
Ruben Amorim's side visit Tottenham on November 8, which could be a realistic return date for Martinez to target, provided his reintegration to full United training goes smoothly.
Speaking to club media this week, Casemiro discussed Martinez's recovery and said: "Licha is on the final straight. He is a soldier who works so hard. He is always in the gym working hard.
"He works hard both on and off the pitch. He is a machine that works so hard. He is one those players who love to work hard. It is a pleasure to have him here. He works so much.
"We arrived at 9am, it's now 4pm and he continues working. He has the experience to know when to work hard. I am so glad - not just me, everyone - because he is an essential player at the club."
Luke Shaw has started every Premier League game this season on the left side of the back-three, and Martinez is expected to compete with Shaw for a starting role when he returns.
Amorim recently reflected on Martinez's absence, saying: “When you have that injury, you have that time where you recover a lot of things really hard, then there is the boring part where it looks like you don't go to the next step.
"We miss a lot Licha, especially in this moment, we miss his aggression in everything he does, we miss him. But he's always there in every meeting. In training, he sometimes finishes his and stays to watch the training. We need Licha in this team.”
Martinez made 32 appearances in all competitions last term and is now into his fourth season in Manchester.
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