Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag has expressed concern over Lisandro Martinez’s injury sustained in the closing moments of his team’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla on Thursday night.
Despite leading 2-0, United conceded two late own goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire, allowing Sevilla back into the game.
Martinez’s injury compounded the misery for United as he was carried off the pitch when the Premier League side was leading 2-1, and Ten Hag had already made all five substitutions. This left United with ten players and ultimately led to Sevilla’s second goal.
Martinez, who joined from Ajax last summer and has become a fan favourite, was running with the ball when he suddenly went down, clutching the back of his right foot and ankle, without any pressure from an opponent, which is a cause for worry.
He appeared to be in some level of pain and discomfort straightaway and was carried from the pitch by international teammates Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna instead of waiting for a stretcher.
Once at the side, an upset Martinez was taken inside on the stretcher by the medical team.
“We’ve seen Lisandro drops out after a moment where there was no opponent involved so it does not look great,” Ten Hag told BT Sport. “I can’t say [how serious it is] at this moment.”
The United boss also confirmed that the reason for withdrawing Raphael Varane at half-time was the result of an injury, the full extent of which is not yet known.
The consensus speculation on Martinez, based on the way he went down and appeared to immediately know something was wrong, is that it could be an Achilles problem. The worst case scenario would be a ruptured Achilles tendon, a serious injury that usually takes in excess of six months and sometimes up to a year from which to fully recover.
United staff and fans alike will be praying it isn’t that serious. But more information will become available in the coming days once tests and scans are carried out.