This doesn’t look good
Life at Manchester United is getting off to a rocky start for Ruben Amorim. Aside from the delays with his work permit, he now faces fresh injury concern as one of his stars has returned from international duty prematurely.
Lisandro Martinez suffered a knock in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s final game in charge as interim boss of the Reds but despite being in some discomfort he joined up with the Argentinian squad for their 2025 World Cup qualifiers.
The 26-year-old had experienced a severe delay at an airport in Brazil with several other Premier League stars including Emiliano Martinez, Christian Romero, Enzo Fernandez and Facundo Buonanotte.
When he finally arrived, Martinez was swiftly released by Argentina, with initial reports stating he was suffering from a hip problem.
Lionel Scaloni admitted that Martinez’s injury had been a surprise and explained the defender had in fact been suffering from back pain.
In a press conference the Argentinian boss said: “We didn’t expect the case of Lisandro. We saw that he had suffered a blow to his back, but apparently, he had no problem, just pain.
“When he arrived here, the pain increased a bit, he underwent tests and is not fit to be here.”
Amorim will be hoping United’s medical staff can work their magic as he returns to Carrington.
His first game in charge is a little over a week away when the Reds travel to Ipswich in the Premier League on November 24.
With the likes of Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro still ruled out from his backline, Amorim will be hoping Martinez is not another player making himself comfy in the medical room.
Meanwhile, his country missed him as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay on Thursday, with Antonio Sanabria and Omar Alderete on target for the hosts after Lautaro Martinez had opened the scoring for the world champions.
They are not panicking just yet though as they remain top of South America’s World Cup qualifying standings as Scaloni’s side have earned 22 points from 11 games.
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