Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag not willing to “risk” Manchester United forward Anthony Martial vs Nottingham Forest
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is not willing to “risk” Anthony Martial by starting him against Nottingham Forest.
The Red Devils are set to visit the City Ground on Sunday (16 April) in the Premier League. In the last few fixtures, the French national has returned from his injury and featured for the Old Trafford side coming off the bench.
Speaking to the media via Metro, Ten Hag admitted that the 27-year-old is capable of being in the starting lineup. However, with the injury issues in our attacking line, the gaffer has fears of another setback.
“Maybe he [Martial] can [start again] but it’s a risk and we can’t take that risk in this moment because we don’t have so many options in the frontline with Rashford and [Alejandro] Garnacho injured, so we have to be careful.”
Martial has struggled with fitness issues for most of the campaign. The French national suffered his first issue during pre-season under the Dutch manager.
Subsequently, over the course of the term, the 27-year-old has been in and out of the team, with multiple injuries hampering him.
After a long layoff, the former AS Monaco star finally made his comeback in the 2-0 loss to Newcastle United. Since then, the striker has featured against Brentford, Everton and Sevilla as well.
In the 2-0 win over the Toffees, Martial found the back of the net. On the La Liga outfit’s visit to Old Trafford in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, the French national put in an inspiring display.
However, Ten Hag is right not to risk the forward. Marcus Rashford is still on the sidelines at the moment. The 25-year-old has been the one who has shouldered the burden of our attack since the Dutch manager’s arrival.
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If anything were to happen to Martial once again, Wout Weghorst would be the only natural number nine at the gaffer’s disposal. Therefore, it is wise for United to take their time with the 27-year-old and incorporate him slowly into the team.
