Anthony Martial now has an unwanted cup final hat-trick for Manchester United

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Anthony Martial was not involved for Manchester United at Wembley. It is the third final in a row he has missed.

Manchester United fell short in the FA Cup final against City at the weekend. Despite a spell of late pressure, United could not find an equaliser.

Would Anthony Martial have made a difference? With just nine goals all season, possibly not, although he did finish the season well with two goals in his last four.

Unfortunately an injury during his 23-minute cameo against Fulham on the final day saw him ruled out of the final at Wembley.

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Anthony Martial unwanted final record

Anthony Martial has a very unwanted record for Manchester United due to injuries. He has now missed the last three cup finals the club have reached.

• June 2023: FA Cup final v City
• February 2023: Carabao Cup final v Newcastle
• May 2021: Europa League final v Villarreal

Anthony Martial missed all three of these games due to injuries, with United winning once.

The two previous finals prior to this which Manchester United reached, against Chelsea in the FA Cup in 2018, and against Ajax in the Europa League in 2017, Martial was on the bench.

Martial did start the two finals prior to this, against Southampton in the Carabao Cup final in 2017, and versus Crystal Palace in the FA Cup in 2016.

Out of a possible seven cup finals Martial could have played in for Manchester United, he has started only two, missing the last three due to injury.

Anthony Martial injury update

Anthony Martial suffered a hamstring injury on the final day of the season and it is not going to be a quick recovery.

Erik ten Hag told The Mail: “Yeah, going to be a long one but how long we don’t know. We have to do more assessment.”

This may hamper United’s hopes of offloading Martial in the summer. But clearly, the club cannot plan for him to play a meaningful role next season.

When a striker is so consistently injured that he has missed the last three cup finals in a row, he is of little use.