Lisandro Martinez will undergo a second operation on his broken metatarsal on Monday after suffering a setback in his rehabilitation.

Martinez will be sidelined for up to three months due to a recurrence of the ailment that kept him out at the conclusion of last season, Manchester United said on Friday.

Mail Sport can tell that the Argentina defender will undergo further surgery on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot on Monday in an attempt to permanently resolve the issue.

Martinez received the original injury in an April Europa League match against Sevilla and was sidelined for 11 weeks.

He returned to pre-season training early in order to get in shape for United’s pre-season tour of America and the first four Premier League games of the season.

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez will undergo another operation on his foot

The injury setback could rule the centre back out for up to three months in a major blow

Martinez’s performance suffered as a result of the issue, according to Erik ten Hag.

However, he was pulled off the field in the second half of Arsenal’s defeat last month due to pain in the same foot.

The former Ajax defender, 25, is said to have taken painkillers to play in the subsequent games against Brighton and Bayern Munich, and fresh tests on Thursday confirmed that the fracture had not healed properly.

‘We did a proper diagnosis, in Argentina as well,’ manager Erik ten Hag said of the injury on Friday. That’s incredibly unfortunate for him and the squad, because he wasn’t fully fit.

‘I think it was a big difference the Licha Martinez in the last games and the Licha Martinez we have seen in the first season here.

‘He will add to the team, a really strong contributor to our levels and if already one player drops a level, the team performance will be lower.’