Erik ten Hag has explained that Anthony Martial missed Manchester United's clash with Crystal Palace after picking up yet another injury problem.
The Frenchman was left out of the squad to face the Eagles despite only just returning from a muscle injury in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest. Martial came on in the second-half and scored the opener as the Red Devils booked their place in the final at Wembley later this month.
However, the 27-year-old sustained a fresh setback in that game and sat out of the clash with Patrick Vieira's men as he tries to recover from this latest issue. It is the 18th match Martial has missed in all competitions this season, with the majority of them muscle injuries.
Ten Hag told MUTV: "He had a set back from the game when he returned [against Nottingham Forest], He dropped a little bit back. We have to wait, we have to be patient."
The latest injury blow will not be good news for Martial, who will have been hoping to impress Ten Hag following Wout Weghorst's positive start to life at Old Trafford. The Dutch forward has scored just one goal in five appearances since his loan move from Burnley but his all-round play has been impressive, especially linking up with Rashford.
Martial last played 90 minutes in the Premier League on January 27, 2021 in a 2-1 defeat against Sheffield United. In actual fact, the last time the former Monaco striker played back-to-back full matches was in that same month - and injuries have really hit the player in recent years.
In an interview back in 2021, Martial previously claimed that he has been caught in a vicious cycle due to having a mixture of injury issues and form problems, which has limited his game time. He added that he is 'less efficient' when he doesn't have regular minutes and is used from the bench, like he was last season.
He said in the France Football interview: "I am not irreproachable. When people say that I lack consistency, it's true. When I have my place, it often goes well, but when I’ve been used less, it is true that my performance has not been the same. It’s a vicious circle: I’m less efficient because I play less, and therefore I play even less.
"When it’s like that, I can sometimes drop out a bit. A player like Cavani, he’s at 3,000 per cent even when given few minutes."
Martial was actually sent out on loan to Sevilla for the second-half of last term, but struggled at the La Liga side, having failed to score in nine matches. Many were shocked that Ten Hag decided to keep Martial in the summer and he has played when fit, scoring six times in 14 games.
