Michael Carrick Provides Injury Update on Key Man Utd Defender Before Crystal Palace Clash

The Red Devils had to make do without the man known as ‘Licha’ against Everton.

Michael Carrick reveals the latest. | Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez is only expected to miss “a matter of days” as he recovers from the injury that ruled him out of Monday night’s win over Everton. But the Argentina international will remain out for Sunday’s visit of Crystal Palace, at least.

Martínez made a gradual comeback in late 2025 from the ACL injury that sidelined him for almost nine months last February. But he’s been a key starter since the end of December, forming a strong partnership with Harry Maguire in the early weeks of Michael Carrick’s reign.

When Carrick discussed team news ahead of facing Palace, he played down fears of another major injury for the influential center back.

“It will be a matter of days,” the interim boss told MUTV. “Hopefully, it won’t be too long. We’ll assess him over the next day or two, and see where he is.”

Carrick had already explained after the Everton match that Martínez’s unexpected absence at the Hill Dickinson Stadium was down to a minor issue in the buildup. “It doesn’t seem too bad at all, but we’re just working through that at the moment, so he’s not available,” he said at the time.

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Who Will Start in Man Utd’s Defense vs. Crystal Palace?

Leny Yoro got the call. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Leny Yoro was plugged into the back four against Everton as a straight replacement for Martínez. Carrick is currently also without Matthijs de Ligt through injury, while former Ruben Amorim-favorite Ayden Heaven appeared off the bench on Monday night.

The defense, with center backs Maguire and Yoro flanked by Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw on the right and left respectively, is likely to remain the same.

After facing Palace on March 1, the Red Devils are back in action only three days later against Newcastle United. It remains to be seen whether Martínez could return for that, but there is then a helpful 11-day break in the Premier League calendar until United face Bournemouth on the road.

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When Will Man Utd’s Other Injured Players Return?

After Martínez in early or mid-March, the next injured player back could be Mason Mount. The attacker midfielder hasn’t played since scoring a disallowed goal in the closing stages of Carrick’s first game in charge, against Manchester City, six weeks ago because of an unspecified knock.

“Mason is getting closer, Matthijs is a little bit behind Mason but, if we can get the boys back, we’ll get them back as soon as we can,” Carrick said. “Patrick [Dorgu] is a little bit further down the line really, in terms of a number of weeks but he’s progressing well.”

Dorgu had been a revelation as a left winger in the January wins over both Manchester City and Arsenal, scoring fine goals in each match. Forced off against the latter, it was suggested the Denmark international could miss as many as 10 weeks to recover from a thigh issue.

Patrick Dorgu is missed on the left flank. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Dorgu has already sat out five weeks, while the full 10 would be a return at the start of April.

Denmark national team manager Brian Reimer has refused to rule Dorgu out of 2026 World Cup qualifying playoffs against North Macedonia and then potentially Republic of Ireland or Czechia in the last week of March. “I know that Patrick has a dream of being ready,” Reimer said, calling the playoff matches the player’s “biggest motivation” in his recovery efforts.

If Denmark, who already missed the chance of an automatic place at the tournament by collapsing late on during the qualifying group phase, win they will reach a third World Cup in a row.

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