You didn’t think Manchester United would actually get through an entire international break (and we still have the entire weekend, and early next week to go) without suffering a fresh injury or two, right? Sure enough, Argentinian central defender Lisandro Martinez, one of the team’s best players, suffered a back problem, and thus had to withdraw from international duty this window.
Fortunately, it doesn’t sound too serious.
Lisandro Martinez
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni provided the following update: “We didn’t expect the case of Lisandro. We saw that he had suffered a blow to his back, but apparently, he had no problem, just pain. When he arrived here, the pain increased a bit, he underwent tests and is not fit to be here.”
Overall it is encouraging though- he should be in contention for the very first game, after the November internationals.
Tyrell Malacia
Injury: rehabilitation from knee surgery
Potential Return:
The left-back finally made his first appearance, in well over a year (and few months to boot) in the EFL Trophy match against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday. So he’s back! Huzzah!
Kobbie Mainoo
Injury: hamstring
Potential Return: November 24, versus Ipswich Town.
Harry Maguire
Injury: foot
Potential Return: November 24, vs. Ipswich.
Leny Yoro
Injury: Ankle, suffered in the preseason friendly loss to Arsenal at SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Rams.
Potential Return: given that he’s back in training, he could be back in action for the home match versus Everton on December 1.
Luke Shaw
Injury: Calf, sustained in the preseason, this past summer.
Potential Return: Hard to say, because all we know is that whatever the timeline is for this guy to return, it just keeps getting pushed back and back.
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.