Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag reveals Anthony Martial injury blow and drops Casemiro debut hint

Erik ten Hag has confirmed Anthony Martial will miss Manchester United’s trip to Southampton on Saturday, but suggested new signing Casemiro will make his debut for the club.

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Martial enjoyed a superb pre-season for United and was believed to be Ten Hag’s first-choice striker before he suffered an injury that ruled him out of the first two games of the season.

The Frenchman was fit enough to make the bench against Liverpool last week and impressed after replacing Anthony Elanga at half-time, helping United clinch a much-needed victory.

Martial’s campaign has encountered another setback, however, with the 26-year-old once against pulling up in training and set to miss this weekend’s clash against Southampton.

In better news for Manchester United, new signing Casemiro is in line to make his debut for the Premier League club following his £70m move from Real Madrid.

‘We will see tomorrow,’ Ten Hag said when asked for the latest team news at his press conference on Friday. ‘The manager knows but I will first tell the team and we will see tomorrow.

‘Casemiro is fit. He did all of the training sessions. He trained first individually and, the last days, he trained with the team.

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‘Anthony Martial is not fit. He came out with a problem on his Achilles, [coming] out of the game, so we have to wait. I cannot tell a prognosis on how long it takes but we hope he will be available for the next game [Leicester].’

United endured a miserable start to the new season – suffering disappointing defeats to Brighton and Brentford – but stunned Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday night.

Ten Hag