Lisandro Martinez is battling a hip injury that has left him struggling to “function normally.”
The Manchester United defender was forced to withdraw from Argentina’s squad for the upcoming November international fixtures on Tuesday.
His journey to South America was marred by disruptions, including a cancelled connecting flight.
Upon arrival, he was assessed by medical staff after sustaining a knock in United’s 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday.
Martinez played the full 90 minutes in that match, which was the last before Ruben Amorim’s appointment as head coach of the club.
Now, with Amorim set to make his managerial debut against Ipswich on November 24, United’s new boss faces uncertainty over Martinez’s fitness.
The 26-year-old is now returning to Manchester after undergoing scans on his hip in Argentina.
According to D Sports, the scans revealed a more serious issue than initially thought.
Despite playing the full match against Leicester, Lisandro Martinez has complained of “discomfort” and has been unable to function normally since sustaining the injury.
It is believed the problem stemmed from a blow to his hip when Martinez was struck by an opponent’s knee during the Leicester match.
In response, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has called up Lens defender Facundo Medina to replace Martinez for the World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed the change in a statement: “Facundo Medina from RC Lens has been added to the squad to replace Lisandro Martínez, who will be removed from the roster.”
This injury update follows a chaotic travel experience for Martinez and several other Argentina-based players. Martinez, along with Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez, Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, and Leicester City’s Facundo Buonanotte, faced significant disruptions to their journey to Argentina.
According to Pagina 12, the five players were on a British Airways flight with a scheduled stopover in Rio de Janeiro.
However, upon arriving in Brazil, the final leg of their flight to Argentina was cancelled, leaving them stranded in Rio’s airport.
The Argentine FA later sent a private jet to transport the players, and the association confirmed on Wednesday that Scaloni and his staff were intensifying their preparations for the upcoming matches.
A statement read: “The Argentine National Team worked this afternoon with the objective set on the next match.
“The team led by Lionel Scaloni began work in the gymnasium set up next to field one and then went out onto the field to carry out, in three blocks, speed and coordination movements with the ball.
“In the second half, the coaching staff arranged an 11 vs 0 exercise to clarify tactical aspects and at the end, they carried out three rounds of football in a small space.”
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