Erik ten Hag gives guarded Man Utd injury update which hands Champions League boost to Newcastle and Spurs

Manchester United are still awaiting news on the severity of an injury suffered by defender Lisandro Martinez in their Europa League quarter-final first leg draw with Sevilla.

The Red Devils are currently in a three-way battle with Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur for a place in next season’s Champions League and will be hoping they receive a rare piece of positive injury news after in-form forward Marcus Rashford was ruled out ‘for a few games’ after sustaining a muscle injury in last weekend’s win against Everton.

Martinez has quickly become a key figure in Erik ten Hag’s squad after following his former Ajax manager to Old Trafford in a reported £57m deal last summer. However, there were concerns his first season in the Premier League could be brought to a premature end after he went to ground holding his ankle in the closing stages of Thursday night’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla.

Having already lost Raphael Varane to an injury during the first-half, Ten Hag watched on as Martinez was lifted on to a stretcher and carried to the Old Trafford dressing rooms with what seemed to be a serious looking injury. The Red Devils boss denied any injury to the defender’s achilles in the aftermath of the game and revealed he is still waiting for further news in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s visit to Nottingham Forest.

When asked if there was an update on Martinez’s injury, Ten Hag responded: “Sorry no, it’s not even 24 hours I don’t have a complete diagnosis. I can’t say in this moment, when we have news we will give it straight to you. Let’s do the medical, a full assessment, complete diagnosis, it doesn’t change in this moment. I have an idea but I don’t cause speculation. We have to adapt in the squad, we have to use the squad, that is also what we did yesterday. You need a tactical approach to win the games, we have good players, suspension, we adapt to the squad.”

Sunday’s meeting with Forest will kick off a hectic period for Ten Hag and his players as they prepare for 11 games inside 42 days between now and the end of the season. Their workload could be increased to as many as 15 games if they reach the finals of the FA Cup and Europa League.