The availability of Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez for Argentina’s first World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador is uncertain.
During the second half of Manchester United’s defeat to Arsenal, the defender was substituted for Harry Maguire.
Following the match, the 25-year-old Martinez promptly departed the UK on a flight to join his Argentina teammates for the upcoming international break.
This left Erik ten Hag unaware of the severity of Martinez’s injury.
Offering an update on Martinez’s injury status during a press conference, the United manager stated that it’s improbable for the center-back to participate in the match against Ecuador on Thursday night.
However, there is a possibility that he could be fit to play in the game against Bolivia next Tuesday.
“Licha, as you know, had an issue with his feet,” Scaloni said, per United’s website. “By the way, he had surgery a while ago. In the last game, he was in pain and went out for precaution. They have done studies and he’s well. He’ll be with us if we want to risk him or not. It’s an uncomfortable situation and we have other teammates who can replace him well.
“It’s not necessary that we risk him. In any case, if he’s available, we’ll evaluate whether to use him or not. At first, for [the Ecuador] match, it’d be a little rushed; we’ll see for the second match.”
Argentina is beginning its path to the 2026 World Cup with matches against Bolivia and Ecuador in the qualifiers. During the World Cup in Qatar, the United defender did not secure a starting position, as manager Scaloni opted to begin with Nicolas Otamendi and Cristian Romero.
If the defender doesn’t participate in Argentina’s qualifying matches, his next appearance is likely to be with Manchester United against Brighton on September 16th.