‘Personal disaster’ - Erik ten Hag gives worrying injury update on Man Utd’s Lisandro Martinez

Erik ten Hag has said Lisandro Martinez’s injury is a ‘personal disaster’ following Manchester United’s 3-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday.

The defender was involved in a coming together with Vladimir Coufal and dropped instantly to the ground clutching the back of his knee. After attempting to play on, Martinez was replaced by Raphael Varane in the 71st minute and walked immediately down the tunnel.

Speaking after the game, Ten Hag confirmed it looks like a serious injury for the Argentinian, who has been limited to just 10 appearances all season.

“I can’t say [how serious it is]. It doesn’t look good,” said the United boss. “There is a big concern. We have to wait for the coming days for the diagnosis and we can tell you more.

“We do everything to get the right diagnosis and see what is the damage. He is very sad, very disappointed. We all feel really with him. First of all it is a personal disaster when it is really bad, but also for the team it is really bad because he definitely brings us a lot.”

The injury is a huge concern for Ten Hag, who has admitted previously that he prefers his defence to operate with a right-footed and left-footed partnership at the heart of defence. Martinez was starting just his second league game after a long-term foot injury that saw him miss nearly four months.

The 26-year-old broke his metatarsal in April's 2-2 draw against Sevilla, which required surgery, But after playing in the opening six games of this season, Martinez had to be operated on again following a further complication.

The fresh injury on Sunday put a sour note on a fantastic day for United, with Garnacho scoring in the first half and Alejandro Garnacho grabbing a brace in the second period as the Red Devils moved into sixth.