Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has now reacted to the return of Red Devils defender Lisandro Martinez in the Crystal Palace match at Selhurst Park.
Lisandro Martinez made his long-awaited return to Manchester United first-team football after being sidelined since February due to a long-term knee injury.
The 27-year-old Argentine centre-back suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee during United’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford last season.
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Martinez was sidelined for the remainder of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign after he was stretchered off in United’s encounter with Palace back in February.
The 2022 World Cup winner underwent successful knee surgery and had been undergoing his rehabilitation at Old Trafford before returning to first-team training.
Martinez was spotted in United training for the first time in October and the former Ajax ace marked his first appearance of the season for the Red Devils on Sunday.
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Lisandro Martinez arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
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Bruno Fernandes speaks out on Lisandro Martinez’s Man Utd cameo performance against Crystal Palace
Ruben Amorim turned to Lisandro Martinez in the second half of Manchester United’s 2-1 comeback win in the Premier League clash at Selhurst Park on the weekend.
Luke Shaw was withdrawn in the 82nd minute and Martinez took to the pitch and slotted himself into the three-man backline of Ruben Amorim’s United tactical system.
Speaking after United’s Premier League victory over Palace, Bruno Fernandes talked up the importance of Martinez’s return to football for the Red Devils this season.
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“It’s very important to have him back, it’s such a long spell that he was out, even for himself, it’s great to be back with the team to have this feeling of playing games again,” he told MUTV, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“We know how much he struggled being out without being able to play for us.
“He’s back and one more option to have such big quality in the team, so we’re very happy with it.”
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Bruno Fernandes on Man Utd’s Premier League performance at Selhurst Park after the Crystal Palace result
Martinez arrived on the pitch as United held on to their 2-1 lead over Palace after mounting a successful second-half comeback against the Eagles at the weekend.
Jean-Philippe Mateta fired Palace into a 1-0 lead from the spot-kick in the first half, but Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount both netted for United after the break.
Fernandes, who assisted both Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount, talked up the “very big response” that United showed with their performance against Palace.
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“It was massive,” he said.
“We needed the three points after the performance and the result we had last week.
“We needed a response very quickly. I think [the] first half was not great for us, but the second half was a very big response.”
United had lost to 10-man Everton at Old Trafford last Monday before returning to winning ways in the Premier League with their result over Palace at Selhurst Park.