Anthony Martial has been given another lifeline at Manchester United

Given the ridiculous number of injuries that have befallen Manchester United this season, it's bordering on miraculous that Anthony Martial has somehow not yet suffered one.

Things have gone desperately wrong for Erik ten Hag and he bears responsibility for that. But it would be unfair not to take the litany of ailments his side has suffered as a serious mitigating factor.

Though Jadon Sancho and Antony were unavailable due to off-field issues, United have been without up to 12 players for some games this season and currently have 10 players unavailable. The entirety of the back four has been decimated with Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez out long-term, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Raphael Varane have had issues.

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Three players haven't even kicked a ball this season and Ten Hag has not once been able to name a consistent and settled side due to someone new getting injured with every passing week. It's impossible to maintain stability on such uneven flooring.

The latest blows came in Saturday's narrow 1-0 win over Luton Town, in which the Danish duo Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund both limped off the field. Though a 4-3 defeat to FC Copenhagen and scrapping past Luton can hardly be considered progress, United were finally looking as though they were finding their feet over the last week.

Both players had been key to that. Ten Hag had bemoaned the lack of balance in his midfield but Eriksen and Scott McTominay were developing a cohesive partnership. Hojlund still hasn't scored in the Premier League but he has looked lively in Europe and gives the team a real