Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has thanked fans for their continued support after he suffered a fresh injury blow at the weekend.

The Argentine World Cup-winner was hauled off with a knee injury in Sunday’s 3-0 win at home to West Ham, with manager Erik ten Hag admitting post-match he feared the extent of the problem.

However, Martinez avoided an ACL injury and instead sprained his collateral ligament. Crucially, he will not need to undergo surgery and is expected to return to fitness in eight weeks.

Taking to social media following the diagnosis on Monday evening, Martinez said: “I want to give a heartfelt thanks for the great support I’ve received and to reassure you that I’ll soon be back out there, and we’ll fight together. Always united!”

Martinez has already missed a significant portion of the 2023/24 season so far having undergone foot surgery back in September, sitting out 22 matches before returning from the bench in last month’s 2-2 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur.

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That procedure was to correct a problem with his metatarsal sustained at the back-end of the 2022/23 campaign, with Martinez crucially missing the final 12 games of last season as United’s Europa League and FA Cup hopes faltered.

This is the first time on record that Martinez has sustained a knee injury in his career having sustained a couple of hamstring problems in his younger days with Ajax and in the Argentina setup.

Without Martinez, United will have to get by with Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans as their recognised senior centre-backs. Luke Shaw has also filled in through the middle on occasion this season amid the club’s injury crisis.