Lisandro Martinez ruled out of Everton trip as calf injury forces late change
lisandro martinez was omitted from Manchester United’s squad for Monday night’s trip to Everton after picking up a calf problem during the week, a development that forced manager Michael Carrick to make a single late alteration to his starting XI. The timing matters because the setback follows a long rehabilitation from an ACL tear and threatens Martinez’s availability for at least one upcoming home fixture.
Lisandro Martinez ruled out with calf injury
United confirmed Martinez could not feature for the first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium after sustaining a calf injury in training during the week, a muscle complaint described as not seemingly too bad but sufficient to rule him out of the match. One account notes he had only returned to action in December after eight months out with an ACL injury; elsewhere his recovery is described as having lasted more than nine months. He had also started every one of United’s last nine Premier League matches since the Boxing Day victory over Newcastle United at Old Trafford, when he captained the side, and had been in the starting line-up for the club’s previous 10 fixtures across all competitions.
Leny Yoro replaces Martinez in Carrick’s Everton selection
Carrick made one change for the Merseyside trip, bringing Leny Yoro into the back four to replace Martinez and moving Jack Moorhouse onto the bench in the spot vacated by the Frenchman. Yoro had come into a recent United side that named identical starting XIs against Tottenham and West Ham, and Carrick noted that Yoro had done particularly well at West Ham. The manager said Martinez had “picked up something during the week, ” that it did not seem too serious, and that the club were working through the issue, leaving the Argentina defender unavailable for that night.
The selected starting XI for the Everton match read: Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo; Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha; Bryan Mbeumo. The substitutes named were: Atlay Bayındır (GK), Ayden Heaven, Tyrell Malacia, Noussair Mazraoui, Jack Moorhouse, Manuel Ugarte, Tyler Fletcher, Joshua Zirkzee, Benjamin Šeško. Benjamin Šeško was left out of the starting line-up for the sixth consecutive game, despite the £74m forward having rescued a point for United in the previous match at West Ham.
Ruben Amorim, long rehab and recent playing run
Martinez’s return to regular action followed a lengthy layoff from a cruciate ligament tear that was the subject of internal debate during Ruben Amorim’s tenure; the Portuguese coach’s reluctance to use Martinez reportedly caused frustration for the player before Amorim was sacked in January. After that period of contention, Martinez ultimately established himself in the team, starting every game across a recent 10-match run in all competitions and the nine consecutive Premier League appearances since Boxing Day. At 28 years old, the Argentina international’s post-ACL muscle issues are being treated as familiar risks after a long recovery, and his ability to return sooner than expected once before is noted as a precedent.
Hill Dickinson Stadium and the short-term implications for fixtures
The calf problem is expected to keep Martinez out for a short spell, with one estimate putting the absence at “one or two weeks. ” That timeframe would rule him out of the Everton game and the next home fixture against Crystal Palace on Sunday; it leaves his participation for a trip to Newcastle on March 4 unclear. Martinez joins Matthijs de Ligt, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Mason Mount on the club’s injury list ahead of the Crystal Palace match, and Carrick will need to find alternative defensive arrangements while the defenders recover.
What makes this notable is how the setback arrived just as United were consolidating form under Carrick: he has won four and drawn one of his five games since succeeding Ruben Amorim, and a victory at Hill Dickinson Stadium would have taken United three points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool for fourth place. The squad change therefore has a direct, measurable impact on selection decisions and immediate league positioning.
Off-field detail: Yoro driving ban revealed on match day
The decision to start Yoro came on the same day it emerged he has been banned from driving for six months after being recorded at 70 miles per hour in a 30mph zone in Cheshire. Carrick’s one alteration—Yoro for Martinez—was the only change to the side, as he again left Benjamin Šeško out of the XI despite the striker’s recent contribution.
United face a compact schedule but, given the sparse nature of fixtures, the club expect the absence to be short-lived. Unless Martinez can recreate the accelerated return he achieved coming back from the ACL tear, he will probably miss the Crystal Palace game; however, the club’s working assessment of the injury and the quoted one-to-two-week window suggest he may be available again quickly.
