As Manchester United head towards the stretch run of the 2025-26 season, they have a new injury concern in central defender Lisandro Martinez. That’s really a shame, considering how the Argentine has missed 90 games in total since 2022. There is good news though- it doesn’t sound too serious.
“Yeah, unfortunately, he just picked up something during the week,” Interim manager Michael Carrick said ahead of the 1-0 win over Everton.
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday, February 2, 2pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Premier League Standing: Manchester United 4th, 48 pts WWWDW Crystal Palace FC 13th, 35 pts LDWLW
Google Result Probability: Manchester United 62% Draw 21% Crystal Palace 17%
“It doesn’t seem too bad at all, but we’re just kind of working through that at the moment, so he’s not available tonight.” Until we learn more, it’s hard to truly analyze the situation and predict when Martinez might return. Put him in the “doubt” category, I guess.
Man United Team News
Elsewhere the other two injury concerns remain the same. Hard to say when Matthijs de Ligt will recover fully from his lower back injury, because the goal posts just keep getting moved back on that. The one, Mason Mount, could be back from his undisclosed injury here.
“Yeah, Mason is getting closer,” Carrick said on Friday.
“I think we’ve been patient, so we don’t want to push anything… We want him back, and he can have a big impact. He’s getting closer, which is good for us…Matta (De Ligt) is a bit behind Mason, so we’re just trying to work with him to progress him.”
United are in better form and getting more results because they are scoring goals. Benjamin Sesko, who scored the game winner against the Toffees on Monday, is a big part of that.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.