Lisandro Martinez could recover from his injury blow in six weeks with reports in Argentina claiming the defender’s setback is not as bad as initially feared.
The centre-half went down unchallenged late on in Thursday’s Europa League clash against Sevilla, carried off the pitch by fellow Argentina internationals Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel before leaving the sidelines on a stretcher.
United boss Erik ten Hag attempted to calm fears over a long-term injury blow for his influential defender, claiming post-match the issue is not an Achilles problem.
The Dutchman was unable to give a further update in Friday’s press conference with Martinez undergoing further tests.
Argentine journalist Esteban Edul reports however Martinez has suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot with no decision made on whether the 25-year-old will need an operation or whether to wait and the bone heal on its own.
Edul adds ‘the outlook is better than expected’ with the current prognosis that Martinez can recover in six weeks.
While the club are yet to provide any official update on Martinez’s condition, that timeline, if accurate, could see Martinez still have some role to play this season.
United have nine games of their Premier League campaign remaining, ending the league season at home to Fulham on 28 May.
United are still fighting in two cup competitions, halfway through their quarter-final tie with Sevilla in the Europa League having also booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.
They take on the Seagulls next Sunday with the winners set to take on Manchester City or Sheffield United at the final at Wembley on 3 June.
The Europa League final takes place four days before but ten Hag’s side still have plenty of work to do before they can start planning for any trip to Budapest.
United threw away a two-goal lead at Old Trafford on Monday night against Sevilla and while they have won two and drawn one from their three trips to Spain this season, they will have a huge task on their hands against the six-time winners in Seville next week.
Should United get through, they would then face a two-legged affair against Juventus or Sporting Lisbon in the semi-finals, with the Serie A giants holding a 1-0 aggregate win at the halfway stage.
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