How Lisandro Martinez is actually feeling ahead of his return to Man Utd training

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Ruben Amorim’s defensive options will be significantly bolstered when Lisandro Martinez returns from injury.

Ruben Amorim has been without Manchester United’s best defender for most of his time in charge of the first team.

The United head coach has stuck with his preferred back-three system. He selects Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw most weeks after taking Leny Yoro out of the team in recent weeks.

With Martinez counting down the days until he can return, Amorim can finally begin to plan to make use of the World Cup winner, who is considered a leader so long as he’s fit to play.

An additional option will come as a boost to Amorim, especially if he listens to Paul Parker’s criticism of Luke Shaw.

Lisandro Martinez close to Man Utd return

Martinez is closing in on his eagerly awaited return to full first-team training at United.

That means the countdown will soon begin for Martinez to return to competitive action, which will hopefully come before the end of October.

Martinez has been working hard on his recovery at Carrington and will set his own personal objective to make the Argentina squad when they attempt to defend their World Cup crown next summer.

The 27-year-old has had several injuries since arriving at United from Ajax in 2022. He has not played for the Red Devils since he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during United’s 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace in early February.

Chris Wheeler from The Daily Mail has provided a promising update on Martinez after appearing on The United Stand YouTube channel. The reporter claims that ‘Licha’ is “bursting” to get back in the team.

Wheeler said: “That’s true, yeah after the break he will be back in first-team training.

“From what I’m told he’s absolutely bursting to get back which you can understand, he’s been through it with his knee and his foot over the past 18 months, a great player, great character, and he’s part of Amorim’s leadership team. He will be back training after the international break, yeah.”

Martinez’s ability to feed the ball into attack from defence has been missing for months. His return will also come as a boost to players like Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.

Casemiro hails Lisandro Martinez as a leader

Martinez has always shown incredible levels of passion on the pitch for United, so his return will come as a boost to the entire first-team group.

Casemiro was keen to praise Martinez for his work ethic in a recent interview with club media, after being interrupted by the World Cup winner during a gym workout.

“Licha is on the final straight,” Casemiro told club media.

“He is a soldier who works so hard. He is always in the gym working hard. He is a machine that works so hard. He is one of those players that loves to work hard.

“It is a pleasure to have him here, he works so much. We arrived [today] at 9am and it is now 4pm and he continues working.

“He has the experience to know when to work hard. I will be so glad for his return. It’s not just me — everyone is happy — because he is an essential player at the club that works so hard.”