Lisandro Martinez has made 10 appearances since coming back from a knee injury that kept him out for most of the year. The Manchester United centre-back has spoken about the challenges he faced during his recovery and how those experiences have influenced his mindset since rejoining the squad.
Martinez was stretchered off during a match against Crystal Palace in February 2025 after suffering an ACL injury.
He wasn’t expected to return until much later in the year, but he made his comeback in December, fittingly against Palace.
Martinez now has 10 appearances under his belt, but United have 17 more games to play this season before the 27-year-old links up with the Argentina squad to try to defend the World Cup trophy.
It’s still unclear who Carrick will settle on as his preferred centre-back partnership for the rest of the campaign.
Lisandro Martinez admits he considered retirement after ACL injury
It’s a challenging time for most players when injuries keep them from training and playing. For Martinez, the nine-month layoff was tough, but it wasn’t his first major setback since joining United from Ajax in 2022.
Speaking to AFA Estudio, Martinez opened up about how tough the recovery process was and admitted there were moments when he thought about walking away from the game. “I clung to the people around me: my family, my friends,” he said, via Ole.
“And after the first two or three weeks, to tell you the truth, I didn’t want to play football anymore. Because I’d already suffered a foot fracture, now this knee injury, and I said: ‘That’s it; I don’t want to know anything more about it.’”
“You have to reinvent yourself because you’re starting from scratch. From scratch in every sense: physically, mentally, personally. Basically, you feel like you’re not a football player.”
Lisandro Martinez found new perspective after ACL injury
Suffering an ACL injury is a nightmare scenario for any footballer, but Martinez has spoken about how the experience ended up helping him grow.
The United defender believes the process forced him to mature and shift his mindset. “Sometimes you think you’re on top of the world, and that’s when life, or whatever it is, sends you these kinds of messages to say ‘this isn’t the way,’” he said.
“I think they’re always good moments, good messages that sometimes you have to get injured to realise and appreciate more where you are.
“I am grateful. Obviously, it’s a bit strong to say ‘thank you’ to this injury because nobody likes being injured, but thanks to this injury, today I can say that I have changed a lot as a person, or my perspective on life.”
Martinez added: “I value everything more: I value life more, I value the weather more, the smell of the grass, the ball, going out onto the field – everything.”
He went on to say that physically and mentally he feels better than ever since coming back from his knee problem.
“I feel really good. I said it in an interview – one of the last ones – that I was a little surprised because I thought it was going to be harder to come back, but we managed it well.
“Everything was very gradual and that helped a lot in making me feel good now. But physically [and] mentally… I’m better than ever.”
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