Ajax ace hails ‘tyrant’ Lisandro Martinez amid Manchester United injury blow

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Former Ajax team-mate Steven Berghuis admits he misses the ‘tyrannical’ presence of Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez alongside him at the Eredivisie giants.

It speaks volumes about Martinez’s importance to Erik ten Hag’s side that, following Thursday’s 2-2 Europa League draw with Sevilla at Old Trafford, most supporters were more concerned about the well-being of their all-action Argentine than a second-half collapse which leaves United needing a result in Andalusia in order to reach the semi-finals.

The good news, at least, is that Martinez’s injury may not be quite as serious as first feared. Ten Hag, in his post-match press conference, played down concerns that the World Cup winner had ruptured his Achilles.

The bad news, is that a now confirmed broken metatarsal means he is out for the rest of this season.

Lisandro Martinez injured as Man United draw with Sevilla

Such is the 25-year-old’s iron-clad mentality, few would bet against Martinez coming back fitter, faster and stronger than ever before.  

Dutch international Berghuis knows first-hand what it is like to share a dressing room with a man Ajax fans once referred to as the ‘Butcher of Amsterdam’.

“Martinez was on it every game. Because of his mentality, he would not tolerate one per cent less,” the winger tells the Ajax Life podcast.

“Licha was a tyrant.”

Ajax look set to lose their Eredivisie crown this season; Arne Slot’s Feyenoord threatening to run away with things at the top of the table.

Then again, such a decline was perhaps to be expected when you consider that Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui, Sebastien Haller, Perr Schuurs, Andre Onana, Nicolas Tagliafico and Antony all followed Martinez out the door last summer.

That is without mentioning head coach Ten Hag, and esteemed director Marc Overmars.

“I forget guys like Haller, Mazraoui and Gravenberch. A lot of guys have left,” Berghuis adds.

“Unfortunately, that is how it goes at Dutch clubs. We are now talking about the players, but then we forget about Overmars and Ten Hag. A lot has been lost and we were quite unlucky with that.”