Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez may require another surgery after aggravating a foot injury sustained in April this year, according to Sky Sports.
The Argentina international suffered a metatarsal fracture against Sevilla last season. As a result, he was ruled out for the final weeks of the campaign after an operation.
The World Cup winner made a timely comeback before the start of the new season, but United revealed yesterday that he suffered a recurrence of the same injury in the Arsenal loss.
Martinez managed to start against Brighton & Hove Albion and Bayern Munich following the international break, but he is now expected to be out for an extended period.
Sky Sport add that the doctors are assessing the best course for his recovery, and a second surgery has not been ruled out. The €50 million-rated centre-back could be out of action until December.
In the absence of Martinez, Raphael Varane could be partnered by Victor Lindelof in central defence today. Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans are back-up options for manager Erik ten Hag.
Varane has only recently returned from an injury of his own. The manager may want to handle him with caution, considering his inconsistent fitness record throughout his illustrious career.
Ten Hag will be hoping that there are no more injury concerns within the squad. As things stand, he has no senior left-backs fit with Sergio Reguilon, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia injured.
Sofyan Amrabat will start in the role against Crystal Palace today. He was superb in his full United debut against the same opposition in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com