“Season done…” Manchester United fans’ worst fears confirmed as possible Lisandro Martínez return date explained

Manchester United fans’ worst fears have been realised, as an update has been provided on Lisandro Martinez’s knee injury, which occurred during their loss against Crystal Palace.

Manchester United’s 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace on Sunday evening was already a damning day for Rúben Amorim and his squad, but they suffered a second blow that may be even more condemning.

In the 82nd minute, Lisandro Martínez went in for a 50/50 challenge with Palace winger Ismaila Sarr but buckled under the duel, with replays showing his knee twisted in a very awkward position.

The Argentina international was then down on the field for a good five minutes and was visibly upset and in pain while surrounded by five medics before being stretchered off and replaced by Matthijs de Ligt.

Martínez has been a rock in defence for Amorim across his tenure so far, starting 15 of the last 16 games at the club and scoring twice while providing one assist in 2025. He will be a huge loss for United.

United fans’ worst fears confirmed

Monday morning has brought news that confirms the fears of many United fans across the world.

The Manchester Evening News has explained that, in the morning after the game, United now fear that Martínez could be out until the end of the season with a knee injury.

United’s season will end on 25 May 2025, with the Europa League final set to take place on 21 May and the FA Cup final on 17 May.

This means that United fear Martínez could be out for at least four months, which means this would be the fourth time the player has missed ten or more fixtures for club and country due to injury since he joined the club in 2022.

Some United fans have taken to social media to express their exasperation at the news, explaining that the club’s season could now be over as Amorim has lost a key and reliable lieutenant in his team.

Possible Martínez return date

Although official details of Martínez’s injury are not expected to come out until later this week, if Martínez is expected to not return until pre-season, this would mark his return date as late July.

Read More: Manchester United told to ignore what “perfect” signing has just done and table £62.5m summer bid

It was reported last week that United are set to compete in this summer’s 2025 Premier League summer series in the United States of America, in which the club will face multiple other Premier League sides.

The 2023 Premier League Summer Series kicked off on 22 July, and it’s likely that the dates for the 2025 edition will be similar.

With no international tournaments set to take place this summer, Amorim will hopefully have a fully fit squad with Martínez included as he looks to train properly with his team and instil the more complex parts of his 3-4-3 system at United.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.