Erik ten Hag admits Anthony Martial is his preferred choice to lead Man United’s attack and could be crucial to their top-four hopes… but insists the Frenchman must find a way of avoiding the injuries which have hampered his season
- Erik ten Hag says Anthony Martial is vital to Manchester United’s top four hopes
- But the Dutchman added Martial has to find a way to stay injury-free this season
- The French striker has only played six times this campaign due to several knocks
- He scored in a 4-2 Carabao Cup victory against Aston Villa on Thursday evening
Erik ten Hag says Anthony Martial is vital to Manchester United‘s hopes of finishing in the top four but has to find a way of staying injury-free for the rest of the season.
Although Martial has resurrected his Old Trafford career under Ten Hag after a spell on loan at Sevilla, the Frenchman has only played six times this campaign due to hamstring, Achilles and back problems.
Martial made only his second start in Thursday’s night’s Carabao Cup tie against Aston Villa and scored in United’s 4-2 win, but is yet to complete 90 minutes.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has stated Anthony Martial is crucial to the club’s hopes of finishing in the top four – but must find a way to stay injury-free for the whole season
Martial scored his fourth of the season in a 4-2 League Cup win against Aston Villa on Thursday
Ten Hag has been forced to start Cristiano Ronaldo in attack more than he expected, with top scorer Marcus Rashford also playing a central role on occasions.
Ten Hag believes that Martial is the preferred choice to lead United’s attack but the club have to work with the 26-year-old to keep him fit.
‘Of course, we analyse that as well and he’s analysing that: what can we do to change that?’ said the United boss. ‘We took some measures to do that, so it’s always when you often have injuries and illness, there is a reason.
‘Sometimes it’s also bad luck. He was really in a good way and then in the last 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid (in a pre-season friendly in Oslo) he got an injury and that really threw him back.
‘I’m so happy he’s back now and that we can manage him and that he stays fit because he is an important part of the squad. He plays very well in a…