Manchester United fans have made their feelings perfectly clear after Lisandro Martinez was forced to come off in the 3-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.
Lisandro Martinez was withdrawn in the thrilling 4-3 win over Wolves at the Molineux on Thursday and fans were concerned after he received treatment off the pitch.
The Manchester United defender was spotted with an ice pack on his leg after he was subbed off, with Erik ten Hag playing down the idea of an injury scare.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Ten Hag claimed his decision to take Martinez off in the Premier League clash against Wolves was tactical.
“I took him off actually because I had to sub Rasmus Hojlund, he was dead with all that running,” he said (via Manchester United’s official website).
“Then we needed an extra header, but for Licha, he has just had a long time out and we brought Harry Maguire on for Licha and also Omari Forson on for Rasmus Hojlund.”
However, Ten Hag was dealt a blow at Old Trafford in Sunday’s 3-0 victory against the Hammers, with Martinez heading down the tunnel during United’s match.
Martinez dealt another blow
Lisandro Martinez only made his long-awaited return for Manchester United last month after a period on the sideline due to injury.
The United centre-back is important for Erik ten Hag’s first-choice backline and proved as much with his impressive performance against Wolves.
Martinez put in a commanding performance and looked comfortable on the ball, with United fans raving about his presence in the first half.
But the ex-Ajax star went down during the match in the second half and Martinez attempted to play on after his initial incident with West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal.
Martinez was forced to make way in the 71st minute after he went down again, with Raphael Varane taking his place on the pitch for United.
The Argentina international was able to head down the Old Trafford tunnel on his own two feet – accompanied by a United staff member – but it remains to be seen the extent of his injury.
However, United fans on X, formerly Twitter, were convinced that Ten Hag should have made the immediate decision to withdraw Martinez when he went down in the first place.
United fans on potential Martinez injury
“FFS, can’t cut a break with injuries. Martinez should’ve been taken off soon as he held his knee,” one fan said.
While a second added: “Should have taken off Martinez when the injury first happened, not let him stay on for a few more minutes.”
A third posted: “Ten Hag knows how important Martinez is to his own job security, but he still risks him after what appears to be a serious knee injury.”
Another wrote: “Silly from [the] manager. Why risk Martinez? Should have taken him off already.”
Someone else commented: “Manchester United taking an unnecessary medical risk with Martinez that immediately came back to bite them, just great.”
“If Ten Hag was wise, he’d [have] taken off Martinez at half-time and rested him. He’s only come back from injury,” a sixth tweeted.
And a seven argued: “Ten Hag should’ve subbed Martinez off straight away, you could see by the lads’ instant reaction it wasn’t good.”
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