Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez undergoes surgery on season-ending foot injury

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has undergone successful surgery on a season-ending foot injury.

The Argentine World Cup winner suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during last week’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie at Old Trafford.

United had an anxious wait to discover the severity of the injury as manager Erik ten Hag held out hope that he could return before the summer, though it quickly became clear that he would be in no position to play again this term.

However, the club insisted that Martinez was expected to make a full recovery and should be fully fit for the start of the 2023/24 campaign in August.

Now the 25-year-old will begin working towards that goal having gone under the knife for a successful procedure on Monday.

Writing alongside a picture of himself smiling and giving the thumbs up from a hospital bed, Martinez wrote on Instagram: “Everything went really well, thanks to God! Many thanks for all of your messages. Now focusing on the recovery.”

The loss of Martinez was compounded for United by fellow first-choice defender Raphael Varane suffering his own foot injury against Sevilla that is likely to keep him out for several weeks.

Both players being sidelined has led to Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof needing to step up, with the former recovering from a very shaky opening 20 minutes against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.

Ten Hag is experiencing something of an injury crisis at present, with Marcus Rashford having also been sidelined of late along with the likes of Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Tom Heaton and Alejandro Garnacho, the latter of whom is stepping up his recovery after posting a picture of himself back with boots on yesterday.

Donny van de Beek and Phil Jones won’t play any part in the final weeks as Carabao Cup holders United still compete on three fronts in the League, FA Cup and Europa League, while Tyrell Malacia missed the win against Forest with a sore knee and Marcel Sabitzer was a late scratch from the starting lineup at the City Ground after hurting his groin during the warm-up.