Cruciate knee ligament injury for Man Utd's Martinez

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee which is set to rule the centre-back out for the rest of the season.

The 27-year-old was taken off on a stretcher late on during the home defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday with an issue United boss Ruben Amorim described at the time as a "serious situation".

"Assessment of the injury is ongoing to determine the appropriate course of treatment and the timescale for his rehabilitation," Manchester United said on Thursday.

"Everyone at Manchester United wishes Lisandro Martinez strength for a successful recovery and we will be supporting him every step of the way."

Martinez's absence will be a blow for Amorim as he tries to improve the fortunes of the Old Trafford side.

United are 13th in the Premier League after the defeat by Palace, which was the club's seventh loss in 13 home games this season.

The news comes at a time when there are renewed doubts over the fitness of left-back Luke Shaw, who has not started a game for United in almost 12 months.

"Licha [Martinez] is really important for us, not just as a football player but the character he has, especially in this hard moment," Amorim said after the Palace game. "Now it's time for us to help Licha."

According to research from Ben Dinnery of Premier Injuries, Martinez is the 10th player in the Premier League to suffer an anterior knee ligament injury (ACL) this season.

Tottenham announced this week that defender Radu Dragusin had injured his ACL in his right knee in a Europa League win against Elfsborg.

He is expected to be out for at least six months, although some ACL injuries can keep players out of action for up to a year.

Seven of this season's 10 ACLs have come this year, with five players having suffered a similar injury in January.

There were nine during the 2023-24 campaign, while Emiliano Buendia and Wesley Fofana suffered ACL injuries in pre-season before.

The last time the number of ACLs reached double figures during a season was when there were 12 in 2016-17.

A three-year project on ACL anterior injury prevention is ongoing in the Women's Super League. Research suggests female footballers are two to six times more likely to suffer ACL injuries than their male counterparts.