Center-back Lisandro Martinez has been summoned to the Argentine national team, but he lacks the physical condition to play against El Salvador and Costa Rica.

In early February, Martinez suffered a knee injury during a 3-0 victory over West Ham. Although the injury was not as severe as initially feared and did not require surgery, Martinez still had to sit out for 6 to 8 weeks.

The former Ajax star did not return to training prior to Manchester United’s FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool. However, he has been included in the Argentina squad to prepare for two friendly matches in March. In the recent 3-0 victory over El Salvador, Manchester United’s defender was not listed on the playing roster.

Most recently, the 1998-born center-back has rejoined Manchester United after training with his national team counterparts this week. Nevertheless, he will not participate in the match against Costa Rica. Martinez has returned to England to undergo the recovery process and is expected to be fit to play in the Premier League encounter against Brentford next weekend.

The 1998-born player is currently able to engage in light training and will gradually increase the training workload in the hope of making a comeback next week. Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans, Luke Shaw, and Raphael Varane are also facing various issues, so Martinez’s potential return next weekend would provide Manchester United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, with an additional quality choice in defense.

Manchester United currently occupies the sixth position in the Premier League and they still aspire to finish the season among the top four teams. The Red Devils are also present in the FA Cup, which is the only competition where Ten Hag’s team has hopes of clinching a title in the 2023/24 season.