Manchester United are running out of options in their defense as they have been hit with a double injury blow. Ahead of the match with Crystal Palace in the Premier League and Galatasaray in the Champions League, coach Erik Ten Hag is scrambling for solutions in the back. Both Sergio Reguilon and Lisandro Martinez have been ruled out for quite some time. Man United will be without a senior left-back in the absence of Reguilon and Martinez. This adds to the list of injured defenders along with Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Lisandro Martinez suffered a foot problem during their defeat against Arsenal. He continued to play through the issue in their next two matches against Brighton in the Premier League and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. However, the injury on his foot has been aggravated and reportedly, he will now miss 2-3 months. Coach Erik Ten Hag used Jonny Evans in Martinez’s absence during their win against Burnley. The coach might have to play Evans for a prolonged time now due to their lack of defender options.
Man United released a statement that read, “Lisandro Martinez will be out of action for an extended period due to an aggravation of the foot injury he suffered in April. But it has now been determined that he needs a period on the sidelines for recovery and rehabilitation. Assessment is ongoing to decide the next steps. Everyone at Manchester United sends Lisandro our best wishes and looks forward to him coming back as soon as possible.” Martinez could be out for around 2 months again similar to his spell in April.
Martinez is not the only one Ten Hag needs to be worried about as their recent arrival Sergio Reguilon has also suffered an injury. The Red Devils played down the severity of Reguilon’s injury. As per the club, he is only set to miss their Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace. However, as per several other reports, the injury might be a bit more severe than that. Reguilon could be absent till after next month’s international break. Hence, he will at least Man United’s next two matches.
Manchester United have only been able to keep 2 clean sheets in the Premier League so far. In the meantime, they’ve conceded 10 goals. Ten Hag has been unable to field his strongest XI due to the number of injuries at the start of the season. They are trailing in 9th-place in the league table. Martinez is Ten Hag’s regular first team man. Whereas, the Red Devils already lost Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia in the left-back position. That’s why they brought on Sergio Reguilon on an urgent basis.
Reguilon was brought to fill that particular position. However, now with Reguilon injured and with his injury being uncertain, the situation can become trickier for Ten Hag. They also lost Aaron Wan-Bissaka to a long-term injury in the right-back position. Man United have a Premier League match against Crystal Palace on 30th September and a Champions League match against Galatasaray 4 days later. The Red Devils can get into a lot of trouble in the absence of so many key players in their defense line.
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