Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Lisandro Martinez is fit to face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday after recovering from a minor ankle problem.
The Argentina international was substituted at the half-time interval of the 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was initially considered as a tactical substitution as he was booked.
However, speaking after the game, Raphael Varane revealed that the £57 million signing picked up a minor ankle tendon issue. Ten Hag has now confirmed his availability for the Spurs game.
He told Manutd.com: “He was just training [on Thursday], so I think so, yeah.”
Meanwhile, the Red Devils boss confirmed that Jonny Evans’ short-term contract expired last month, but talks are ongoing with him over the possibility of continuing at the club.
He added: “In this moment, [he’s] not. I have to say, it’s a short [deal] for [last] month [July], he’s under contract. But we are talking. Yeah. Otherwise, we would not talk.”
United started their top-flight campaign with an underwhelming display against Wolves. They won through a late Raphael Varane winner, but the performance was poor.
The Red Devils were dispossessed on a staggering 39 occasions in the attacking third. Wolves were gifted with the opportunity to play on the counter-attack, but did not capitalise.
There needs to be a big improvement on Saturday. Hopefully, we will see a better response against Spurs. United have had a strong record against the north London side lately.
They have picked up 13 points from the previous 15. The only setback came last season when they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In our view, United should play in their traditional counter-attacking fashion against Spurs, who are not defensively strong. They should capitalise on their weakness at the back.