Martinez closes in on return after injury

SOME good news at Manchester United: Lisandro Martinez is close to a return from injury.

- By STEVEN RAILSTON

On Wednesday, Martinez uploaded a photo of himself running on grass at Carrington alongside United physiotherapist Ibrahim Kerem, suggesting his return to full training is imminent.

The Manchester Evening News revealed in July that Martinez was progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury, which raised the possibility of a return to action in the autumn.

Martinez's knee buckled when he fell to the ground against Crystal Palace at the beginning of February, and it was confirmed he had suffered an injury to his cruciate ligament.

United will continue to carefully handle Martinez as he enters the latter stages of rehabilitation and he will only be available for selection again when medical staff deem him to be fully fit and ready.

But the sight of Martinez skipping along the turf at Carrington is a huge boost, as the next step will be returning to full team training. United have missed Martinez and it will be great to see him available again.