Lisandro Martinez ensured he got his customary scything yellow card-worthy challenge in before being forced off against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
The once-tagged 'Butcher of Amsterdam' lived up to his name as he clattered into Eddie Nketiah with a pretty woeful tackle that earned him a booking, but that was his last notable sequence of action at the Emirates as injury forced him off the field two minutes later.
Manchester United's injury woes meant that by the end of the contest, which they crushingly lost at the death, the maligned Harry Maguire was partnering Jonny Evans at the heart of Erik ten Hag's defence.
Nevertheless, with Raphael Varane set to miss the next month after the international break, United supporters will be desperate to hear that Martinez has avoided an injury issue of any note. Here's the latest surrounding the 'butcher's' fitness.
When will Lisandro Martinez return from injury?
"And Licha [Martinez] said he had a problem on his foot. But I'm not sure if it's an injury," Ten Hag said after his side's defeat in north London.
"We have to wait, we have to see, we have to make the diagnosis."
While the United boss was coy regarding Martinez's status, reports emerged on Sunday evening that the defender has only sustained a knock and will thus travel to Argentina for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Bolivia. However, the United defender isn't assured of a place in Lionel Scaloni's starting XI with Cristian Romero favoured alongside Nicolas Otamendi during their successful World Cup campaign in 2022.
Martinez was used sparingly, and United fans will hope that continues this month with the diminutive defender so crucial to Ten Hag's project in Manchester. He can ill-afford to miss any time due to injury given their current absentees.
The Red Devils are next in Premier League action on Saturday 16 September against a buoyant Brighton, with United then beginning their Champions League campaign with a simple trip to Bayern Munich four days later.
Maguire and Evans against Harry Kane, anyone?
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This article was originally published on 90min as Lisandro Martinez: Injury progress & potential return date for Man Utd defender.
