Manchester United played their first friendly of the preseason on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Wrexham. Notably, Benjamin Sesko missed out entirely as he’s still not entirely recovered from the shin injury that he suffered in the 3-2 win over Liverpool on May 3.
Meanwhile Lisandro Martinez got injured, again, yesterday in Argentina’s loss to Spain in the World Cup Final.
The last 24 hours have also seen Matthijs de Ligt post an injury/fitness update on his social media. So we have lots to cover, as we get updated on this Red Devils troika.
Benjamin Sesko
The Slovenian striker missed the last three matches of this past season with a shin injury, and he did not travel to Helsinki with the rest of the squad this past weekend. Instead he stayed back, working at Carrington on his own individual rehabilitation program. He’s therefore doubtful for next weekend’s friendly as well.
However, he is expected to be fully fit for the season opener.
So Sesko will be ready when the games actually count.
Lisandro Martinez
We are still awaiting a diagnosis on the 28-year-old central defender, but once again he’s hurt. Martinez had just been booked for a very rough challenge (that’s what his national team did a lot of, certainly more so in yesterday’s match, but throughout most of the tournament as well- overtly physical play) before taking a seat on the pitch.
Lucha realized he was too injured to continue on, and the Argentine medical staff arrived to help him exit the field of play.
He has really been unfortunate when it comes to injuries in recent years. But we just don’t know how severe this situation is/is not.
Matthijs de Ligt
Last season, the Dutchman suffered a lower back injury that forced him to miss out on most of the campaign. And this off-season he underwent surgery to correct the problem. He’ll now miss all of the preseason, as well as the early part of the upcoming season. At least according to the timeline presented on the club’s official website.
He’s posted a video of himself working out on Instagram, as well as some vacation pics from Ibiza.
And he’s obviously doing ok, as the caption of his photo post read: “recovering and enjoying.”
Team Injury Updates as Preseason Friendlies Commence
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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, Ratings and RG. 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.