Ruben Amorim will have a welcome boost after the international break as Lisandro Martinez is set to return to first team training.
The Argentina international has not played since February when he suffered a serious knee injury against Crystal Palace, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
It has been a long and slow process to rehabilitate that injury, initially returning to light training in July.
The Daily Mail report that his schedule has been increasing steadily intensity, working with the ball and an MRI scan last week showed positive results.
The 27-year-old will now be back in first team training when the rest of the Manchester United squad return from the international break next week.
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The Red Devils are next in action at Liverpool on Sunday October 19 and it seems unlikely he will be thrown back into action in that game, but the defender will be pushing for a return as soon as possible.
It has been an injury-plagued time in the Premier League for Martinez since he moved to England from Ajax in 2022.
The 27 Premier League games he played in his first season is the most in the top flight he has managed in one campaign, with just 11 in 2023/24 and 20 last time round.
He will return to the squad with plenty of competition for a place in Amorim’s back three.
Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Ayden Heaven have all played at centre-back so far this season.
Martinez has largely been in the starting XI, when fit, since he joined Manchester United so will be confident he can regain his place in the team.
Amorim spoke of the returning Martinez in September, when he was seen training on the grass again.
‘It’s really important,’ said the manager. ‘When you have that injury, you have that time where you recover a lot of things really hard, then there is the boring part where it looks like you don’t go to the next step.
‘We miss a lot Licha, especially in this moment, we miss his aggression in everything he does, we miss him.
‘But he’s always there in every meeting. In training, he sometimes finishes his and stays to watch the training. We need Licha in this team.’
After the trip to Anfield, the Red Devils host Brighton on Saturday October 25.