Lisandro Martinez has returned from injury for Man Utd and is now set to do battle with Luke Shaw for a place in Ruben Amorim's team.
Lisandro Martinez
Lisandro Martinez is back in action for Manchester United
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Ruben Amorim has told Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez that they must fight it out for the right to get in his team as the Argentine's return from injury sets up a fascinating duel between the pair. Shaw has started every Premier League game this season and made his 300th appearance for Manchester United in Sunday's win against Crystal Palace.
But he was withdrawn towards the end at Selhurst Park and replaced by Martinez. The 27-year-old was making his first appearance in 10 months after recovering from a serious knee injury. Martinez has had misfortune with injuries in the last couple of years, but now that he is fit, he is desperate to make up for lost time and will be eyeing a challenge to Shaw to get in the team as Amorim's left-sided central defender.
There is a chance Shaw could yet be used as a left wing-back, although he has barely played that position since Amorim's arrival and the demands would be a test of his newfound durability. For now, the 30-year-old is likely to keep his place against West Ham on Thursday, but Amorim has set up a battle between the two left-footers for a place in his team going forward.
"They have to fight," he said. "We talked about that as a group last year. We needed to win the Europa League. You have 11 players because you have no idea what is playing one game per week. You are going to be upset because you are not going to play. It’s 11 players that can play and then the rest you have to fight. That is the situation. That is not a problem. That is a blessing. That is my job to choose.
"Licha is a guy who has a big character. I feel that he stops for a year and now he wants things really, really fast and you have to manage that to explain with that injury, we need to go step by step, but he's getting ready, he's feeling really strong. He's one more guy to help the team to play better, so I'm really happy with Licha at the moment."
Shaw's renaissance has been remarkable after his own injury woes restricted him to just five starts last season. He had made only 27 appearances across the last two seasons before his run in the side this term.
"We took special consideration in the beginning," said Amorim. "When we are building the player, we have to be careful. Trying to control the load, not putting so many minutes. Even the position is completely different.
"You know that the demands of that different position he is going to struggle. He adapts really well to that position because sometimes he's playing with the ball like a fullback. But he's defending more deeply. He's really smart.
"For me, I said already I think he's a world-class player. Of course, he needs more continuity. Like he's showing this season. We are playing just one game per week. That helps a lot. If he needs three days to recover, and he's not needing it now, but if he needs it we can give him.
"We are not taking special measures for him in this moment but we had to do it in the beginning when he was starting to have more minutes."
Amorim left the door open to Shaw playing as a wing-back in his system, with the absence of Noussair Mazraoui and Amad during the Africa Cup of Nations set to lead to a shortage of options in that position from mid-December.
"It's different, you have to train there," said Amorim. "Before you think to put a different player in that position, you need to train there. Or he needs to do some minutes and then he needs to come off. Or return to a different position.
"But he's ready to if we need him. Maybe we are going to need him and in this system he can play there."