has revealed Lisandro Martinez has suffered a ‘very bad injury’ after he was forced off against West Ham United on Sunday.
United eased to a 3-0 victory over the Hammers with scoring in his fourth league game in a row with
A potentially huge injury blow took some of the gloss off a fine performance, however.
Martinez started his third game in the space of a week against ’ side having returned from injury in mid-January.
The Argentine provided another assured display at the back but was left needing treatment after appearing to injury his knee in a tussle with Vladimir Coufal.
Martinez tried to carry on but was down again moments later, visibly distraught as Raphael Varane came onto replace him after 71 minutes.
It was just Martinez’s fourth game back after three months on the sidelines but the centre-half could now be facing another spell out with ten Hag offering a bleak update after Sunday’s win.
‘I can’t tell the detail but it seems bad,’ he said. ‘We have to wait for the detail and making the right diagnosis in the coming days.
‘We’ll see what is going on. In this moment, we’re very sad about this but, hopefully, it’s not too bad. We can only pray.
‘We have to find out in the next days what is the diagnosis. It’s very bad for him and very bad for the team. He’s just returning and is a very important part for us. Last season, when he fell out, I felt our performances dropped a level.
‘We have to avoid that because we have a good squad and centre-backs who can fill in. But he definitely brings spirit to the team, apart from his footballing abilities.
‘It’s disappointing for the team and especially for Licha. It’s so frustrating, he worked hard to return now for two games. It looks like he has to sit some games out injured again but let’s stay positive at this moment. Hopefully, it’s not too bad but we have to wait.’
Martinez suffered a season-ending foot injury last season in April after breaking his metatarsal in a Europa League clash against Sevilla.
After undergoing surgery,
He made his return off the bench in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham on 14 January.
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