Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Anthony Martial’s five lay-offs this season have all been separate injuries. Martial sustained a hip injury last week that forced him to miss the defeat of Crystal Palace on Saturday and he is unavailable for the visit of Leeds United on Wednesday night. The 27-year-old has suffered hamstring, Achilles, back and muscular injuries already this season and will sit out the 21st of United’s 35 games this season. Martial has not completed 90 minutes in the Premier League for United since January 2021 and United are aiming to sell him in the summer.
Erik ten Hag said: “No, every time in different areas. At the minute, it is his hip. He is not always available, but also I see the other side when he is available. He was never 100 per cent this season but he had a big impact every time he is available, even when he is at 80, 85, 90 per cent. So we do everything and Anthony Martial is doing everything. I think Anthony Martial is the player who has spent the most hours at Carrington this season, to return to recover, to get back, it is really so a pity for him that he is disappointed. He is not always available and we want him to be always available because that will improve our game and because routines can’t become routines when you are not always available.”
Wout Weghorst has started all six games he has been available for since he arrived on loan from Burnley last month and he is set to continue in Martial’s absence against Leeds. Weghorst, 30, came off early in the second-half of United’s win against Palace and Marcus Rashford moved to the striker’s position, where he scored the winning goal. Netherlands international Weghorst has only scored one goal for United but Ten Hag is encouraged by his performances. “I think in many scenarios I can see also to be very good with Wout and in other scenarios to be better with Martial, but Martial has some capabilities he adds, he has some skills, he can be more variable.
Erik ten Hag said: “But what is definitely the case is Wout Weghorst is doing a really good job for us in pressing. His offensive movements are very good and he is the one who makes players around him play better, to create spaces and also he had some contributions in the box. As a team, we have to work better to anticipate his movements because his movements are good, quite a lot of times he was close, like the header against the post against Forest. It was a penalty against Forest which he didn’t get. He had many good actions and already a lot of good contributions to our results. Especially for strikers, most of the time, it takes time. At the start of the season for Rashy we discuss it often and every time I say it will come, we have to work on routines, the team around has to act better, but I see his potential. The same I see with Wout, he will score, but in the meantime do the other stuff, do it good. It is about not scoring individually but scoring from the team and the team has to win. He is doing a very good job at this moment in several aspects of football.”
