Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez flew to the
United States this week to join up with Argentina's national team. Martinez didn't travel to feature in either of Argentina's friendlies against El Salvador or Costa Rica, he merely flew out to be around his international teammates. He is still recovering from an injury suffered to the medial collateral ligament in his knee and the timeline for his rehabilitation was expected to be at least eight weeks, which earmarked the end of March as the potential date for his return. The worst was feared when Martinez went down to the ground holding his knee against West Ham at the beginning of last month, but thankfully he didn't require surgery. ALSO READ: Loving Casemiro and rejecting City - The inside story of Mainoo's journey ALSO READ: Fernandes claims he might change position for United After suffering from an aggravated metatarsal problem, which ruled him out for three months, Martinez returned from the sidelines against
Tottenham on January 14 and showed why he'd been sorely missed when starting against Newport County, Wolves and West Ham. That's why it was so concerning to see him pick up a problem against West Ham - he'd only been back for a few games. Martinez is arguably Erik ten Hag's most important player and his return will be warmly welcomed as the business end of the season approaches. Martinez's passing is outstanding for a defender - he could be effective in midfield - and he plays a significant role in build-up play, especially as a left-footed player. He is the only naturally left-footed centre-back available and Ten Hag made signing him from Ajax a priority in his first summer because of that; it's key to how he wants to play. Ten Hag has regularly spoken about the 'passing angles' that Martinez and Luke Shaw create as left-footed players and both of those players' respective absences have been significant. Martinez enjoyed an outstanding first season in Manchester and it's been a shame to see his second blighted by injury, but his status as the first-choice centre-back hasn't been affected. He should immediately return to the starting team when he's deemed fit enough and he might make the matchday squad for United's visit to Brentford in the
Premier League. After that game, United will play
Chelsea on Thursday, April 4 and that fixture is more likely to see Martinez involved alongside his partner from last season, Raphael Varane. United are a better team when Martinez and Varane play together. The pair quickly developed a formidable partnership and they were key in the success of last season. The Reds conceded 43 league goals across the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign and they've already conceded 39 this term, with 10 games remaining to play. Martinez has made just seven league starts and although it's not as simple as one player deciding how the team performs, his absence has been a factor in the regression. When United won the Carabao Cup, Ten Hag said: “Before the game you asked me about the influence of Casemiro and Rapha Varane - they know how to win trophies - look at all the
Champions League wins they had. "But I think Martinez - I had him in Ajax, won trophies with him - the same with Antony. You need that personality and typical character in your squad to win in the end. Martinez is definitely one of them. "You can count on him and you can rely on him and he showed that again today. That bond together with Rapha is really strong. As a manager on the sidelines, you are composed and can have confidence they will sort it out.” Ten Hag knows he can 'rely' on Martinez and it will be great to see him back.