Manchester United fans must accept gutting reality about Lisandro Martinez after fresh injury

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.

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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