Forgotten Manchester United man could be about to give Cristiano Ronaldo his next challenge

It is impossible not to feel somewhat sorry for Anthony Martial.

The Manchester United forward has spent most of this season staring at the walls of the Carrington treatment room, as opposed to strutting his stuff out on the pitch. Injury troubles have so far restricted him to just 45 minutes worth of action this term, leaving him lagging behind his competitors in pursuit of a regular starting berth.

But on the one occasion Martial did get to try and start rekindling his United career, he ensured that he made his mark, providing an excellent assist for Marcus Rashford's first goal of the season in the 2-1 win over Liverpool last month. United were 1-0 up at half-time that evening and manager Erik ten Hag, instead of trying to protect what his team had got, sensed blood, making an unexpected attack-minded change.

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Within eight minutes of his introduction, Martial had justified his manager's thinking, providing the pass for Rashford to double United's lead. As well as providing the assist for what turned out to be the match-winner, his overall performance in the second half was one that ought to have left Ten Hag with a selection dilemma for the trip to Southampton five days later.

Unfortunately for Martial, his injury curse struck him again, sending him back to the treatment table. He has not played since, meaning he has missed the last five matches in all competitions - and it would have been more had the recent scheduled meetings with Crystal Palace and Leeds United not been postponed.

This time, it is an Achilles problem that he is battling against and it is currently unknown how long it will be before he is back available. Ten Hag is