Man Utd suffer major injury blow ahead of Aston Villa clash after setback for key star

Manchester United are set to be without Lisandro Martinez when they take on Aston Villa this weekend after the defender suffered a setback in training. Martinez has missed the past three Premier League matches with a calf injury and is unlikely to feature against Villa.

The centre-back revived his partnership with Harry Maguire in the first five matches of the Michael Carrick era to great effect. He was settling back into the side after 10 months on the sidelines following a cruciate ligament injury.

Unfortunately the Argentina international picked up another issue in training last month and has subsequently sat out of wins over Everton and Crystal Palace and the defeat by Newcastle. Carrick has brought Leny Yoro into the side to replace Martinez for those fixtures – and the young Frenchman will keep his place for Sunday’s home game against Villa.

The Daily Mail reports that Martinez suffered a ‘slight reaction’ after returning to the training pitch at Carrington and therefore won’t be risked this weekend. The problem is understood not to be serious, but Carrick and his coaches don’t want to rush Martinez back and risk further setbacks.

Maguire and Yoro are the only two fit senior central defenders, with Martinez sidelined along with Matthijs de Ligt. Youngster Ayden Heaven will likely sit on the bench as the only back-up centre-back on Sunday.