Lisandro Martinez: Manchester United dealt major injury blow as star limps off in World Cup final | OneFootball

Defender hobbled off as Spain faced Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey

Manchester United have been dealt a huge injury blow as Lisandro Martinez hobbled off in the World Cup final.

The Argentina defender was forced off in the first half at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as he and his side faced Spain.

Martinez had just been booked for a foul on Mikel Oyarzabal, crunching through the back of the Spanish centre-forward, but the centre-back went down following the challenge.

Team-mate and namesake Emi Martinez signalled to the Argentina bench that the United defender could not continue, and manager Lionel Scaloni called for Nicolas Otamendi to warm up and hurriedly replace him.

It is a huge loss, not just for Argentina, but for Michael Carrick and the Red Devils, who are looking to build on their third-place finish under their new permanent head coach last term.

Carrick has taken the reins on a full-time basis at Old Trafford after an impressive second caretaker spell when he took over from Ruben Amorim in January after the Portuguese had been sacked.

Carrick led his former side to Champions League football for the first time since 2023, and he has been handed the job permanently this summer, as well as being backed in the transfer market.

The club have signed Andrey Santos for £48million, followed by goalkeeper Karl Darlow on a free transfer, and then Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35m.

Martinez’s latest injury blow could prove a problem for Carrick at the heart of his defence, with Matthijs de Ligt plagued by a lower back issue last term, while Martinez himself fought back from an ACL rupture to finish the campaign strong.

Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro are the club’s other senior central defenders, while Ayden Heaven is United’s only other left-footed centre-half in Martinez’s absence.