David de Gea has sent a message to Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez after manager Erik ten Hag confirmed today that the Argentine will undergo further surgery to fix his metatarsal injury.
The World Cup winner is set to spend an extensive period on the sidelines after the Red Devils determined he needs to seek treatment having experienced discomfort during the defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Bayern Munich.
Martinez fractured his metatarsal during April’s Europa League quarter-final against Sevilla, missing the remainder of the 2022-23 season as a result.
He underwent an operation and returned to action in pre-season but suffered a recurrence of the problem against Arsenal last month before the international break.
Man United have been dealt a huge injury blow and De Gea has reacted to the news, sending his best wishes to his former teammate on Instagram.
The Red Devils are also without Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Reguilon, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia at the back, with midfielder Amad Diallo still recovering from a pre-season injury.
However, teenage midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was involved in training with the first-team squad for the first time this season on Monday.
Martinez could be out of action until January, and Ten Hag will have to rely on Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans for now and hope the injury woes end.
Man United lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace on Saturday and will return to action tomorrow when they take on Galatasaray in the Champions League in their second group game of the campaign.
They will be without eight first-team stars for the game, with six unavailable due to injuries, while Jadon Sancho is currently suspended due to disciplinary reasons and Donny van de Beek is unavailable for selection having been left out of their Champions League squad.
