Man United's Martinez faces long spell out, Shaw still sidelined

MANCHESTER, England :Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez will be out of action for the foreseeable future after the Argentina international suffered an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury, manager Ruben Amorim said on Thursday.

Martinez was carried off on a stretcher during Sunday's 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace and has joined a United injury list that also includes midfielder Mason Mount, and defenders Luke Shaw and Jonny Evans.

"Licha (Martinez) is a difficult situation. He's going to be out for a while," Amorim told reporters ahead of Friday's FA Cup fourth-round match against Leicester City.

"We don't know the extent of the injury but it's an injury that is going to take time."

The club said they were still assessing the injury to decide the right treatment, giving no time scale for his rehabilitation.

Martinez had been an integral part of the defence, slotting in at left-sided centre back in a back three or in back four.

The 27-year-old has made 24 appearances in all competitions this season and scored two goals last month - the opener in a 2-2 draw at Liverpool and the winner at Fulham.

Martinez injured his medial collateral ligament last year, which had kept him sidelined for two months.

He is also likely to miss Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil next month.

SHAW SETBACK

Shaw was expected to make a comeback from injury but Amorim said the 29-year-old defender, who has yet to start a game this season, had suffered a setback.

"Luke... one small issue in a different area from the last injury. So we'll try to be careful with Luke," Amorim said.

Amorim said United's new defensive recruits, Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven, were ready to play.

United made no other signings in the mid-season