Manchester United and Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez has now revealed the “very emotional” experience that he felt after his key injury setback in 2025.
The 28-year-old Argentine centre-back missed the second half of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
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Lisandro Martinez collapsed to the pitch late in the second half and was clutching his knee in Manchester United’s 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace last February.
The Argentina international was stretchered off the pitch at Old Trafford and Martinez underwent a long road to recovery from his long-term injury.
Martinez successfully underwent surgery on his knee injury and the United star was also placed on a special individual rehabilitation programme in 2025.
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Lisandro Martinez missed the opening months of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign before finally returning to the Manchester United first-team squad last October.
The 2022 World Cup winner made his long-awaited return in Man Utd’s 2-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last November.
Martinez climbed off the bench late in the second half and replaced Luke Shaw for his first minutes since he sustained his anterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee.
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The former Ajax ace even admitted that he was unsure if he would play football again after another injury setback curtailed his run at Old Trafford.
“After my injury, I felt like I was not going to play football anymore,” he told TNT Sports, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“It gets me very emotional, you know, because it’s really, really tough. You start appreciating the grass, your teammates, the atmosphere before the game. After my baby and my family, football is my all.”
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Lisandro Martinez is coming into his own again at Man Utd after overcoming his knee injury
Martinez was slowly reintroduced to United first-team action under Ruben Amorim and built up important minutes under his belt after a lengthy period on the sidelines.
The United centre-back has since climbed back into the Red Devils starting XI and has been a key pick for interim head coach Michael Carrick this season.
Michael Carrick has deployed Martinez as one of his first-choice centre-back picks and the former Ajax defender has started all five matches under the interim boss.
Martinez has also completed the full 90 minutes under United legend Carrick in all five Premier League matches and appears to be back to his best for the Red Devils.
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