Martial injury fear for Reds as forward limps out
UNITED have been handed an injury concern over Anthony Martial after the Frenchman limped off against Kazakstan.
The forward was handed a starting berth by Didier Deschamps in Les Bleus’ second World Cup Qualifying match yesterday.
However, in the second half, Martial was forced off with a knee problem after falling awkwardly under a challenge inside the penalty area.
The 25-year-old received lengthy treatment and continued for five minutes as he tried to shake off the knock, before eventually being replaced by Kylian Mbappe.
The injury will concern Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as United prepare to face Brighton at the weekend.
Martial has only just returned from a hip injury sustained during United’s first leg Europa League tie against AC Milan which ruled him out of matches at home to West Ham and the return leg at the San Siro.
The Frenchman returned to the starting XI against Leicester City in the FA Cup but could now be in a race against time to feature at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.
The United striker played a crucial role in France’s opener against Kazakstan, receiving a threaded pass from Reds teammate Paul Pogba and spinning past an on-rushing defender before laying the ball to Ousmane Dembele to open the scoring.
The assist was his seventh in 27 caps for France, a record far greater than his return for United, where he’s set up five in 41 matches this season.
Pogba was then involved in France’s second goal too, as he applied pressure on Serhiy Malyi to head past his own goalkeeper from a corner.
Martial’s replacement, Mbappe, missed a penalty late on but France secured a first win of their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory.