Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez struggled with a lengthy injury lay-off before returning to full fitness in recent months.
Lisandro Martinez checking his headband.
Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez admits he thought about retiring following his injury hell.(Image: )
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Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has revealed he considered giving up football - and retiring - after suffering from a horror ACL injury last year. The 27-year-old spent nine months on the sidelines after picking up the injury in a 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace in February.
He underwent surgery on the injury and missed the end of last season, along with the beginning of the current campaign, before returning to action against the Eagles in the 2-1 win over Oliver Glasner's side at the end of November. The former Ajax man has had his fair share of injury problems since his £55million move to Old Trafford from the Netherlands in July 2022.
The defender was, reportedly, involved in a training ground confrontation with Ruben Amorim over the Christmas period, prior to the Portuguese head coach's departure from Old Trafford. Martinez is alleged to have wanted more game-time having spent the last nine months out, claiming he was ready to do his bit for the team.
Now, in an interview with AFA Estudio, the United defender admits he thought about calling time on his career.
"You feel like you're not a football player anymore," Martinez said. "You feel pain and think you'll never play football again.
"A mental and physical imbalance, which, honestly, when I think about it today, I don't know how I did it. I clung to the people around me, my family, my friends.
Ruben Amorim with Lisandro Martinez.
Ruben Amorim (left) and Lisandro Martinez (centre) reportedly fell out. (Image: Getty Images)
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"After the first two or three weeks, to be honest, I didn't want to play football anymore. And then, of course, you become more aware, you get that support."
Martinez also fractured his metatarsal back in April 2023, which kept him out for the remainder of that campaign, needing a second operation on the injury which kept him out for 180 days across two spells.
It kept him out of the FA Cup defeat to Man City that season, and injury also kept him out of the Europea League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last year.
When asked about his recovery, Martinez added: "You need to not take the easy way out. The easy way out is to just give up and that's it.
"But, I always say, it's in the face of adversity that you show your true character. So I reconnected with myself, I reconnected with my roots, with who I am, with my values, and I gave it my all, day after day.
"For me, it was day by day, a constant struggle, and my match was every day at the gym. Then, well, I had therapy with my psychologist, always trying to improve in every aspect - and then I was clear about what I wanted, right?
"To try to become the best version of myself, to give my best, to see how far I could go.
"And the truth is that with each passing month, I saw the results, I saw how I was getting stronger, and today, on the pitch, I feel excellent, and I say that thanks to those days, well, of suffering, of not giving up - today we have the results."