Manchester United’s Lisandro Martínez and Victor Lindelöf both out for a month

The loss of Martínez is a particular blow as he is one of ten Hag’s frontline defenders and had just returned from a knee problem suffered on 4 February against West Ham when coming on as a substitute in Saturday’s draw at Brentford.

INJURY BLOW: Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez collides with Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo during the Premier League match at the Gtech Community Stadium.  Photo credit: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

Manchester United’s hopes of Champions League qualification and winning the FA Cup have been engulfed in a defensive crisis after Lisandro Martínez and Victor Lindelöf were ruled out for a minimum of a month due to muscle problems.

Erik ten Hag’s team are in sixth place on 48 points, 11 behind Aston Villa in fourth and nine from Tottenham, who are fifth, having played a match less, ahead of Thursday’s trip to Chelsea. Martínez and Lindelöf’s respective injuries will cause both defenders to miss at least five games plus the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry on 21 April.