Lisandro Martinez sends heartfelt message to fans after eagerly awaited return

Manchester United's Argentinian defender #06 Lisandro Martinez (R) comes on after several months off injured, during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on January 14, 2024. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /

Lisandro Martinez returned to the Manchester United defence in the second half of Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

The Reds came away from the Premier League meeting with a point, despite leading the match on two separate occasions.

Rasmus Hojlund gave United the lead inside five minutes with a sensation strike from inside the box. The opener, however, was cancelled out by Richarlison header from a corner kick.

United took the lead again in the first half through Marcus Rashford, but quickly gave it up minutes after the break. Throwing goals away has been a regular occurrence since the beginning of the campaign and sadly there are no signs of it stopping anytime soon. Even against a Tottenham side missing their best players.

As Martinez returned to the pitch, the Old Trafford faithful gave The Butcher a warm welcome back with loud chants of “Argentina!” and he has reacted to it by writing a message of appreciation.

Martinez took to X after United’s 2-2 draw against Spurs to write: “Proud of the reception I got from the fans, I really love you. Not the result we wanted, but we battled hard until the end. We’ll work together for more!”

It is a huge boost to have Martinez back in the side because I would argue he is the player we’ve missed most this season, even though his performances at the beginning of the campaign (injured?) were way below par.

The Argentina international is not just a bonus to have in the team defensively. None of our defenders can get the ball forward as quick as Martinez and it will be a boost when the likes of Mason Mount is fully recovered from his injury.

Welcome back Licha!

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