All Manchester United fans have expressed a shared sentiment upon learning that Lisandro Martinez will undergo surgery again on his right metatarsal.
The Argentinian initially fractured his metatarsal in a Europa League match against Sevilla in April, causing him to miss the rest of the season.
Martinez, 25, successfully recovered in time for the pre-season and played a pivotal role for United at the start of this season. However, ahead of the 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace, manager Erik ten Hag disclosed that Martinez had encountered a fresh issue in the same foot during the Arsenal match and had continued to play despite the problem in the subsequent two games.
United subsequently confirmed that it was an “aggravation” of his previous injury, necessitating a period of absence for the Argentinian.
Now, according to the Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler, Martinez is to have surgery on his right metatarsal in an attempt to cure the injury for good.
Wheeler claims that the Argentinian played through games against Brighton and Bayern Munich, and reports that further assessments has shown the fracture has not healed correctly.
And he could be out until January while he recovers, in the latest significant setback for Ten Hag.
And United fans all took to X (Twitter) to vent their fury in asking why Martinez had been playing despite not being fully fit.
One said: “How did the medical department at United allow this Martinez situation to get to this point?”
Another wrote: “A situation that could have been easily prevented.”
A third, meanwhile, stated: “We actually need to look into this injury crisis. Something needs to change.”
Another queried: “How was he cleared to even play?”
A fifth said: “Baffled by how United allowed him to feature in two more games after he felt a problem.”
United have received some solace in recent matches, with Raphael Varane starting the last two games against Palace and Burnley.
Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire are Ten Hag’s other options at centre-back, but Maguire hasn’t started a Premier League game all season and another injury in the area could prove to be disastrous.