Anthony Martial is ready to start for Manchester United for the first time in three months.
The Frenchman’s last start came in the Manchester derby against City on January 14, but a hip injury forced him off at half-time.
After five weeks of training with the squad, Martial could return to the line-up against Sevilla, a club he spent some time at on loan last season.
Martial got his name back on the scoresheet at the weekend, too. He scored the winner in a 2-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford. That put him on seven goals in 17 appearances for United this term, however, he has not been able to complete 90 minutes in the Premier League since January 2021.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Ten Hag was quick to defend Martial, who has missed a lot of football this season due to injuries.
“We don’t have to force things,” Ten Hag said, as per Manchester Evening News.
“We are careful, of course. The front line against Everton worked really well. I think it was continuity, we were a threat, was difficult to defend for the opponent.
“”I think he is ready to start the game, but as I said, the front line did very well against Brentford did really well and we decided to go with that against Everton and did really well.
“The advantage was we could bring Martial back slowly, in the team, giving him minutes, get him used to a game at the highest level and to highest intensity but I think already against Everton he was ready to start the game.
“You say I defended him, yeah. But I just point to the stats. The stats are telling you the moment he is on the pitch, the time he needs for a goal is less.
“When he’s in the team, I refer to games against Man City and against Liverpool, we play our best football and we have our best results as a team.
“I defend him because I point to the stats and I see how he contributes to this team.”
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