Ten Hag details “several talks” with Man Utd star Martial over fitness woes
Erik ten Hag has revealed that he has spoken to Anthony Martial over his fitness issues after the Manchester United forward suffered yet another injury blow.
The 25-year-old limped off with a hip problem in the Red Devils’ 2-1 win over Everton on Sunday evening and is now unavailable for United’s Europa League clash with Omonia Nicosia at Old Trafford. It comes after Martial scored twice off the bench in the Manchester derby, before contributing to United’s comeback win over the Cypriot side last week.
Martial scored and also grabbed an assist as the Red Devils’ earned a 3-2 victory – putting them second in their group behind Real Sociedad. However, the Frenchman will not be involved on Thursday night after Ten Hag revealed he hasn’t trained since the game at Goodison Park.
Martial might be available for the Red Devils’ home game against Newcastle United, though, with Ten Hag anticipating that it is only a short-term issue. This is the latest of a series of injury struggles for Martial, with the forward playing just 133 minutes this term and Ten Hag has admitted he has had “several talks” with the player about his fitness problems.
“Not today. We will see how he develops to Sunday,” Ten Hag said of Martial. “I’ve had several talks about that with him, really disappointed for him.
“From the quality, all the minutes he played, he played well, even Sunday with the assist for Antony, the pressing was good, he was an important factor and played well. But obviously, he fell out and it’s disappointing for him and disappointing for the team as well.
“Of course, I want every player to be available, sometimes it’s disappointing when they’re not available, especially with all the games coming up and when they’re not available you have to deal with the situation and I focus on the players available.”
Martial isn’t the only United player ruled out of their clash with Omonia as Donny van de Beek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka face a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Ten Hag confirmed that the United duo have suffered “long-term” injuries, although he didn’t specify what the problems were.
Wan-Bissaka has struggled for game time this season since Ten Hag’s appointment in May, with the former Crystal Palace man playing just four minutes of first-team football this term. He hasn’t been in the last six matchday squads, however, and Ten Hag has now confirmed he has sustained a long-term issue.
Meanwhile, Van de Beek also hasn’t featured since the Red Devils’ win over Liverpool back in August and hasn’t been named on the bench since their success at Leicester City on September 1. It had been said that Van de Beek was suffering with a knock but this seems more severe than first feared.
