De Ligt injury update revealed as Man Utd ready to offload centre-back deemed not good enough

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·8 September 2026

De Ligt injury update revealed as Man Utd ready to offload centre-back deemed not good enough

Manchester United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is reportedly close to returning from injury, while Lisandro Martinez may be on borrowed time.

Following the close of the summer transfer window, Man Utd have been scrutinised for using virtually all of their funds on a midfield rebuild, partly because they have looked weak in defence in the early weeks of this season.

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Centre-back pair Martinez and Harry Maguire have been criticised for their performances as Man Utd have conceded six goals in their opening three Premier League games.

But the Red Devils are about to be boosted by the return of De Ligt, who has been sidelined due to injury since December 2025.

For a while, De Ligt’s return timeframe has been unclear, but our colleagues at TEAMtalk are reporting that Man Utd are ‘planning’ for the experienced centre-back to return to action following the end of September’s international break.

The report claims:

‘The club’s priority is to have De Ligt fit and available for the majority of the season rather than rush him back and risk another setback. ‘A match against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on October 10 has been pencilled in as a potential target for his return, although that is not being treated as a fixed comeback date and his progress will continue to be assessed closely.’

Man Utd planning for life without Lisandro Martinez

And this may be factoring into Man Utd’s verdict on Martinez, with Football Insider reporting that they are ‘ready to let the defender leave’.

Former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown has told the outlet that Martinez is going to be “one to watch”.

“Lisandro Martinez is going to be one to watch, there are a few doubts about him,” Brown told Football Insider.

“He’s too inconsistent, and that’s a problem if he starts giving away goals like the one against Ipswich where he was lucky that the game was already done at that point.

“It’s nowhere near good enough for an international-class defender to get caught out trying to play the ball across your own box.

“Mistakes like that give you question marks about whether he can be relied upon at the back for a team who are trying to make progress and trying to establish themselves again.

“Plus, he’s had his injury issues, which have been a concern for Man United and we’ve spoken before that it’s not exactly a good sign.

“It would obviously be a bit of a shock to let him go for free, because he’s still highly regarded and could do a job for a lot of clubs, but I’m not convinced his long-term future is at Man United.”