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MANCHESTER UNITED’S LISANDRO MARTINEZ DEALT NEW CHALLENGE ON VERGE OF RETURN

Man Utd's Lisandro Martinez is set to return from injury but faces a tough battle to reclaim his starting spot. Luke Shaw's superb form at left centre-back means Martinez must now prove his fitness and form.

Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez Dealt New Challenge on Verge of Return
Martinez Dealt New Challenge on Verge of Return - Darren Staples / AFP / AFP / Profimedia

The Manchester United defender might return to the team for this weekend's match against Tottenham Hotspur.

When Manchester United travels to play Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this weekend, they could be fortunate to have a complete roster. Ruben Amorim will cherish this uncommon luxury, but it also gives him a welcome conundrum when it comes to choosing his side.

Although it is difficult to do so, Amorim might theoretically unleash his best lineup over the next weeks. While many of United's "best" team's stances may be clear, there are still two or three that are strongly contested and sure to split opinions.

The position of left centre-back is the closest of all. This month, Lisandro Martinez is anticipated to make his eagerly anticipated comeback from injury; nevertheless, he is facing an unforeseen obstacle as he gets ready to play for the first time since sustaining a catastrophic knee injury against Crystal Palace in February.


Martinez presented an unexpected obstacle.


When Lisandro Martinez joined Manchester United from Ajax in 2022, he immediately made a name for himself as a vital member of the team. With his profile as a left-footed centre-back, he has been essential to maintaining the defence's balance, whether they have used a back three or a back four.

Martinez's ball-playing skills have been highly praised by both Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, and despite being a defender, the Argentine is considered one of the United team's top playmakers. Both coaches have encouraged Martinez to be bold with his deep distribution and have looked to him to start attacks as frequently as he finishes them for the opposition.

The 27-year-old is a special player who has been indispensable in the United lineup when you combine his technical skill with his intense perseverance and leadership abilities. In any case, it was the case right up until the season began.

Regarding Martinez's expected return last month, Amorim stated, "It is absolutely crucial." We miss Licha a lot, especially right now; we miss his aggressiveness in all that he does. However, he consistently attends all meetings. He occasionally completes his training and remains to observe the instruction. Licha is essential to this team.

It would be incredibly unjust of Luke Shaw to imply that Martinez will significantly strengthen the starting lineup, even though he will undoubtedly improve the United first team squad. One of their unsung heroes of the season, the 30-year-old has overcome his own injury problems to take the Argentine's spot this season.

Shaw has demonstrated exceptional defensive skills, reads the game well, and has made some crucial blocks at the back. He has also been as good with the ball as Martinez. Many people believed that Shaw had lost this aspect of his game due to his terrible recent injury record, but he has really benefited from the shortened schedule and requirement to play just one game every week.

Amorim would selfishly not mind if Thomas Tuchel disregarded him, but his comeback has been so strong that it would not be shocking if he were called up to the England squad tomorrow. Although Shaw is currently the favourite to lose the job, the United head coach may now have a backup in the vital left centre-back position.

Martinez has the point to prove instead. He will start as a replacement when he rejoins the matchday squad, and it is up to him to respond to fitness-related queries in order to go back into the starting lineup. He may return, although he has not joined the team yet.

EX-CAPTAIN NEVILLE CLAIMS SUBSTITUTIONS MADE MANCHESTER UNITED "WORSE" AGAINST WOLVES

Gary Neville slams Ruben Amorim’s "weird" substitutions and tactical shifts after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with bottom-side Wolves.

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Was the halftime substitution a tactical error or an injury?

Gary Neville said that the performance of Manchester United in their match against winless Wolves was ‘the baddest of the bad.’

United would have moved fourth in the league with a win at Old Trafford last night, although Wolves, who had two points in 18 games before kickoff, ended their record of 11 straight losses with a 1-1 draw.

Amorim’s team had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by a League Two team, Grimsby, in August, but Neville was convinced that United had hit rock bottom in a game that could have been even more one-sided were it not for two important saves by Senne Lammens.

“That was the baddest of the bad," the former United captain declared on the Gary Neville podcast.

“They weren’t just booed off at the final whistle. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”

United had won at Newcastle 1-0 on Boxing Day, despite being plagued by an injury list that already lacked skipper Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt, as well as three players on African Cup of Nations duty.

But they remained flat right from the first whistle, and the header by Ladislav Krejci just before the half bottled Joshua Zirkzee's deflected shot.

Amorim’s formation choice of 3-4-3 was brought into focus once more as the Portuguese opted to go back to his preferred tactic of four at the back against Newcastle.

“This isn’t right. I’ve watched enough of United over the last five or six weeks to know what looks right and what isn’t right,” Neville had declared 20 minutes into his commentary on Sky Sports.

“Because, when I see that we go back (to three at the back) after five minutes tonight, I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?

"The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it."

However, Amorim decided to substitute Zirkzee at halftime and brought on an 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, who made his third appearance at the senior level.

Regarding substitutions made by Amorim, Neville further added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was ridiculous.”

‘If Zirkzee was injured, and it was a tactical substitution, that was a very poor one.’ But Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, not by a long shot, and he had to get out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”

SEE LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S FURIOUS REACTION AFTER MAN UTD’S SHOCK WOLVES DRAW

Lisandro Martinez demands more after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Wolves. United ended 2025 sixth in the Premier League.

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Martinez slams United’s tactical mistakes

Stand-in captain Lisandro Martinez was mad that Manchester United dropped points against Wolves, who are at the bottom of the league.

United came into the last game of 2025 after a good win against Newcastle on Boxing Day and were expected to easily beat Wolves.

Joshua Zirkzee scored first for United, but they didn't take their chances. Ladislav Krejci's header tied the game for Wolves, 1-1.

It was only their third point in 19 games, and it stopped their 11-game losing streak. United fans booed at the end of the game.

When Martinez was asked if it felt like a disappointing point, he said, 100 percent.

We are very disappointed. We can't keep drawing or losing points at home. We have to win.

We want to be at the top, competing with the best.

We can't drop points in games like this. We just have to accept it and be hungry for the next game.

Martinez was captain again because Bruno Fernandes is still recovering from an injury.

When United coach Ruben Amorim was asked about injured players for the game against Leeds on Sunday, he didn't give much away. Leeds are really wanting to beat United for the first time since 2010.

Martinez said to MUTV, You can either make excuses, or you can be strong and say, 'We're dropping points, so we need to go for the next one and show what we can do.'

We need to work together and do the easy things to get the three points.

United is in sixth place in the league at the end of 2025, only two points behind Liverpool for the last Champions League spot. Liverpool has a game in hand.

They could be in a better position if they had been better in both boxes. Leeds has been playing well lately, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing great up front.

Martinez added, It's about us. I don't like to think about other teams.

I'm thinking about what we can do to get better as a team every day, and we have to learn from this game.

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