It’s been a pretty familiar story for Anthony Martial this season. Fans are used to seeing the Frenchman sizzle on the pitch only to lose his way due to injuries and lack of form.
Thanks to the French striker for resurrecting his doomed United career since the arrival of Erik ten Hag. It seemed inevitable that the club would sell the 26-year-old in the summer after a disappointing loan spell with Sevilla.
But Ten Hag came in and gave him a chance during preseason that Martial took with aplomb. With Cristiano Ronaldo out of pre-season for personal reasons, the former Monaco star seized the opportunity and scored three goals and an assist.
Season start stoppage for Martial
It was an absolute certainty that Martial would start the season as Ten Hag’s preferred striker. But the first of his injuries struck and he ended up missing his team’s first two games due to a hamstring injury.
Ten Hag on Anthony Martial: “I have several conversations with him about it [this season’s injury problems]. It’s really disappointing for him. But I think he played every minute well, even on Sunday. He assisted Antony and played very well.” #MUFC
— MUFC Scoop (@MUFCScoop) October 12, 2022
United lost those two games and the manager had to modify his plans and opted to give Marcus Rashford a chance at the job. Martial returned from injury and set up Rashford’s winner against Liverpool before succumbing to injury again.
An Achilles tendon injury forced the French international to miss quite a few games before returning to the Manchester Derby. His impact was instant when he scored twice in a disappointing 3-6 loss to City.
Once again meeting Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League and scoring a goal, Ten Hag was so pleased with his striker’s impact that he chose to give him his first start of the campaign against Everton.
He attended Antony’s equalizer before a back injury cut short his return to the side. With crucial games getting faster, Ten Hag will once again be without his strongest weapon.
His stats are staggering as in just 133 minutes of football this season, he has contributed to five goals, a goal or assist rate every 26.6 minutes.
Ten Hag was quick to praise his striker despite his injury problems, but also admitted it was frustrating for both the player and the team.
“Nope [training] today, we’ll see before Sunday,” explained Ten Hag, when asked for the latest on Martial during the press conference.
Injuries can take a huge toll
“I have several conversations with him about that. [this season’s injury problems]. It’s really disappointing for him. But I think he played every minute well, even on Sunday. He assisted Antony and played very well. He fell and it’s frustrating for him.”
It won’t be long before the Dutch boss realizes there’s no use trusting such an injury-prone star. Not to mention his lack of enforcement when the going gets tough.
And the same goes for the national team. According to RMC, with only a month to go until the World Cup, Didier Deschamps remains concerned about whether he can rely on Martial to keep him fit and make an impact over the course of the tournament.
And that could mean the national team coach is forced to snub him before another big international event.
It’s clear United need a striker to make up for the loss and despite his impact, injuries could mean Martial will continue to falter when it comes to fulfilling his potential.
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