"It's ridiculous", "It's over for us" - Manchester United fans despair as star is reportedly ruled out of Burnley game
Lisandro Martinez will reportedly miss Manchester United's clash with Burnley at Turf Moor tonight (September 23).
According to INSIDER UNITED on x (formerly Twitter), Martinez won't be available for Erik ten Hag against the Clarets. The reason behind his absence is undisclosed but the Argentina defender has been dealing with injury issues since the turn of the year.
Martinez missed the last two months of last season after suffering a serious Achilles injury. He returned during pre-season and has started every game for the Red Devils in the ongoing campaign.
However, the 25-year-old came off in the second half of Manchester United's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal with a hamstring issue. He played the full 90 minutes in his side's 4-3 to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (September 20).
If Martinez is sidelined it will be yet more misery for Ten Hag whose side have endured an injury crisis at the start of the campaign. The Dutch tactician has been without the likes of Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Harry Maguire, Mason Mount, and Sofyan Amrabat.
Ten Hag's men have made a disastrous start to the season, losing three of five league games. They sit 13th in the league and are in need of a vital win after losing three matches on the bounce across competitions.
It will be intriguing to see who comes in for Martinez against Burnley given Ten Hag's limited options. The United boss may have to hand a first start to Jonny Evans who rejoined the club on a one-year deal in the summer.
Manchester United fans are in despair amid the Argentina international's potential injury. talkSPORT pundit Mark Goldbridge gave a grim verdict of the situation:
"Martinez out of the Burnley game is a blow. Short term yes but long term it's ridiculous how many key players are injured....How can we build any momentum when the team is changing and decimated so regularly?"
Another Red Devils fan has written his side off:
"It’s over for us."
Here's how fans on X reacted to reports claiming Martinez won't play Burnley:
Manchester United superstar Marcus Rashford talks up his partnership with Rasmus Hojlund
Marcus Rashford was Manchester United's protagonist last season, bagging 30 goals and 11 assists in 56 matches across competitions. It was the best numbers he's put up in a single campaign of his whole career.
However, the goalscoring burden lay heavy on his shoulders and the English superstar was without a prolific partner in attack. That may now have changed following Rasmus Hojlund's arrival at Old Trafford.
Hojlund, 20, joined the Red Devils from Serie A side Atalanta in the summer for £72 million. The Dane bagged 10 goals and four assists in 34 games last season.
Rashford is excited by the potential partnership between himself and the young striker. He said (via centredevils):
"Honestly. I'm very enthusiastic. Last year, when we went on counter-attacks, we only saw the other players' jerseys. This year, you have to understand that the dynamic has exchange."
The duo have looked promising working in tandem with one another in defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Bayern. Rashford assisted Hojlund for his first goal at the Allianz Arena midweek.