Lisandro Martinez has taken another significant step towards his Manchester United return after joining Michael Carrick’s squad in training ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Leeds United.
Martinez had only recently resumed individual work following the injury he suffered during Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain.
His recovery has now moved forward quickly, with the defender joining his United teammates at their training camp in Ireland.
Lisandro Martinez Man Utd return gathers pace
The Sun’s Samuel Luckhurst reports Martinez trained with the squad at Carton House on Wednesday after becoming the final United player involved in the latter stages of the World Cup to arrive for pre-season.
It represents clear progress from Monday, when the 28-year-old was still working individually.
ReadManUtd reported earlier this week that Martinez had returned to the grass at Carrington but was not yet considered ready for full team training.
His involvement in Ireland changes that picture.
Wednesday night’s Leeds friendly is still expected to come too soon, with United unwilling to rush Martinez back after his disrupted start to pre-season.
A return against AC Milan in United’s final friendly on Saturday is now considered more realistic.
That would give Carrick an opportunity to assess Martinez before the Premier League opener against Hull City on 22 August.
United have relied heavily on Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro during pre-season, while Matthijs de Ligt is also working towards his own return after a lengthy absence.
Martinez getting back into full training therefore arrives at an important time.
Carrick does not need to gamble on him against Leeds. Having the Argentina international available to push for minutes against Milan would give United another important option just one week before the competitive season begins.
