Legendary English defender Rio Ferdinand is understood to be quite worried about Manchester United center-back Lisandro Martinez’s injury that he sustained during the Premier League fixture against West Ham United on February 4. Manchester United had claimed a dominant 3-0 victory in that home game. The joy of the triumph, however, was overshadowed by the injury of Martinez, who limped off the pitch in the second half. He went down holding his knee in the 71st minute and looked to be in obvious pain. This led Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag to replace Martinez with France’s World Cup-winning centre-back, Raphael Varane.
Manchester United shared a statement on Monday, giving an update about Lisandro Martinez’s knee injury. As per the official release, the Argentine has damaged his medial collateral ligament and is expected to stay out of action for “at least eight weeks".
Rio Ferdinand feels that the absence of Lisandro Martinez will leave a huge impact on Manchester United’s performance in the upcoming matches. The 26-year-old had been out of football for the majority of the season but his return seemed to have helped the team in regaining the momentum. Since Martinez re-joined the squad last month, Manchester United have secured three victories in a row across all competitions.
After Lisandro Martinez had been ruled out due to another injury, Rio Ferdinand addressed the topic on his FIVE podcast. He said, “Martinez got a little injury. He has done his knee. I see he tweaked it. I think that looks like ligaments, man. He tried to carry on and then said, ‘No, no, no I’ve got to go’. So, listen, if he’s out, it kills it."
Rio Ferdinand further referred to the on-field coordination between Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw as the duo look good “in terms of setting up attacks."
“You can see with him and Luke Shaw on that side when they’re together, they look so dominant, they look so confident, they look so composed with the ball," the 45-year-old said. Rio Ferdinand also pointed out the attacking prowess of Lisandro Martinez while calling him “one of the most influential players" in the current Manchester United squad.
With Lisandro Martinez staying out, Erik ten Hag will need to choose between Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans to form his defensive unit. In their next appearance, Manchester United will be up against Aston Villa on Sunday, February 11.
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