Man United star, 27, reveals he considered retirement after string of serious injuries and opens up on recovery: 'It was a constant struggle'

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has revealed he considered retiring from football last year after suffering a serious injury.

Martinez returned to action at the end of November following a nine-month lay-off after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in United's 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in February.

The Argentine star, 27, underwent surgery and made his comeback in the 2-1 win against the same opponents at Selhurst Park.

Martinez has had a string of injury problems during his time at the club and has now admitted in a frank interview with AFA Estudio that he thought about calling time on his career.

'You feel like you're not a football player anymore,' Martinez said. 'You feel pain and think you'll never play football again.

'A mental and physical imbalance, which, honestly, when I think about it today, I don't know how I did it. I clung to the people around me, my family, my friends.

Lisandro Martinez says he considered retirement after suffering a serious injury last year

Martinez (centre) made the frank admission in an interview with AFA Estudio on Wednesday

'After the first two or three weeks, to be honest, I didn't want to play football anymore. And then, of course, you become more aware, you get that support.'

Martinez fractured a metatarsal bone in his foot in the 2-2 draw with Sevilla in April 2023, which ruled him out for the rest of the season and required a second operation. The problem kept him on the sidelines for 180 days across two spells that year.

He was absent for the 2023 FA Cup final defeat by Manchester City and also missed the Europa League final loss against Spurs last May.

Speaking on his recovery, Martinez added: 'You need to not take the easy way out. The easy way out is to just give up and that's it.

'But, I always say, it's in the face of adversity that you show your true character. So I reconnected with myself, I reconnected with my roots, with who I am, with my values, and I gave it my all, day after day.

'For me, it was day by day, a constant struggle, and my match was every day at the gym. Then, well, I had therapy with my psychologist, always trying to improve in every aspect, and then I was clear about what I wanted, right? To try to become the best version of myself, to give my best, to see how far I could go.

'And the truth is that with each passing month, I saw the results, I saw how I was getting stronger, and today, on the pitch, I feel excellent, and I say that thanks to those days, well, of suffering, of not giving up - today we have the results.'

Martinez signed for United in a deal worth £55million in July 2022. He has made a total of 101 appearances for the club, scoring three goals.

The Argentine could feature under United's new head coach Michael Carrick when they host Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.