LISANDRO MARTINEZ is set to undergo a second operation on his broken metatarsal today after suffering an injury setback.
The Argentine, 25, first suffered the issue back in April and was out for 11 weeks.
Lisandro Martinez could be sidelined for the rest of the yearEPA
He returned during pre-season and played Man Utd‘s opening four Premier League games of the campaign.
But the injury, on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, was reaggravated again during the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal last month and he was taken off.
He took painkillers to cope with the injury in the losses to Brighton and Bayern Munich.
However, tests earlier this week revealed the metatarsal has not healed correctly.
And the Argentina centre-back will now have surgery on his right foot to try and cure the long-standing problem.
This could keep him out for up to three months, meaning he may not return until the new year.
When discussing the injury on Friday, Erik ten Hag said: “We did a proper diagnosis, in Argentina as well, but now it came out that there was a problem.
“That’s very sad, for him and the team, because he was not 100 per cent fit.
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“I think it was a big difference the Licha Martinez in the last games and the Licha Martinez we have seen in the first season here.
“He will add to the team, a really strong contributor to our levels and if already one player drops a level, the team performance will be lower.”
With Martinez out, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire are Ten Hag’s options at centre-back.
Varane and Lindelof started the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
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