Lisandro Martinez became an immediate
Manchester United fan favourite last season. Martinez was outstanding at the heart of the defence as United won a trophy and qualified for the Champions League, a new chant was coined and a banner of an
Argentina flag with a meat cleaver was unfurled over the Stretford End, which the player described as 'incredible'. The defender enjoyed a dream 12 months in Manchester after leaving Amsterdam, but his second season hasn't gone to plan and he's been restricted to just seven league starts. Although Martinez was the most successful signing Erik ten Hag had made, his injuries have had a detrimental effect on that status and he's set to be sidelined for another month. ALSO READ:
Chelsea chaos offers United and INEOS an obvious warning ALSO READ: United confirm first pre-season friendly Martinez has made just 11 appearances in all competitions and he's played 760 minutes, which means he's averaged just over 90 minutes during each month of the campaign. He was absent in the latter stage of last season due to a fractured metatarsal which required surgery. Martinez featured in pre-season, but that problem was aggravated in the autumn and he took painkillers to play against Bayern Munich and Brighton in September. Struggling to play through the pain, Martinez didn't look himself and it was announced that he'd be unavailable for three months after undergoing another round of surgery. "The squad will miss him," said Erik ten Hag. "As you know, we have more injuries, so we always have to deal with it as a squad. He has to be strong. He will fight back, he is a character." United have been porous this season. Martinez's prolonged absence has been a factor in the team's regression and Ten Hag was correct when saying he'd be missed. His ability to pass through the lines and his spirit, determination and character on the pitch make him unique in United's dressing room and his return was highly anticipated. Martinez has hardly played this season. (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images.) By the time Martinez returned in January, United were out of the
Champions League and the Carabao Cup, and struggling in the race for top four in the
Premier League . In an interview with club media, the 26-year-old vowed to help achieve a strong end to the season, but he played against
Tottenham, Wolves and Newport County before sustaining a serious-looking knee injury against West Ham in his fourth appearance after his lay-off. The worst was feared when Martinez went to the ground clutching his knee, however, it was confirmed he'd sustained a medial collateral ligament injury and didn't require surgery. A timeline of around eight weeks was given for Martinez to return from that issue, which meant he would be absent for crucial games against Aston Villa,
Manchester City and
Liverpool, although preparing for fixtures without him certainly wasn't anything new at that stage. Martinez was pencilled in to make another comeback after the international break and it was surprising to see United allow him to join up with his nation's squad. "Lisandro Martinez is not yet ready to return from a knee injury but is joining up with the Argentina squad in the
United States," a statement from the club read. "He will continue the final steps in his rehabilitation with the squad but will not feature in matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica. It has been decided that Lisandro will benefit from training with his international colleagues as he regains fitness, rather than staying at Carrington." Martinez travelling to the States to finish his rehabilitation now looks questionable after he returned against Brentford last weekend, only to be ruled out for another month. The centre-back replaced Victor Lindelof with 20 minutes remaining against Brentford and he looked to have come through that appearance unscathed, but it was announced on Tuesday night he'd picked up a calf strain in training, which represented a fresh injury. While Martinez should return before the end of the season, he'll be unavailable for more key fixtures and it means he's had foot, knee and calf injuries in the space of months. Availability is the best quality a footballer can have and Martinez's campaign has been a disaster, almost reminiscent of how the fragile Anthony Martial would fare. United fans still adore the likeable Martinez, but it's probably fair to suggest that he can no longer be considered as a successful signing due to his injuries this season. Martial has made eight more appearances than Martinez and that says it all.