Man Utd injury latest: Erik ten Hag gives updates on Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane

Erik ten Hag still doesn’t know the full extent of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane’s injuries, but says there can be no excuse as Manchester United prepare to face Nottingham Forest.

The Europa League quarter-final against Sevilla looked set to end in a comfortable first-leg victory on Thursday, only to unravel in a chaotic and potentially costly 2-2 draw.

Tyrell Malacia’s own goal in the 84th minute was compounded by a serious looking injury to Martinez, who stopped in pain clutching his right ankle and was eventually taken off on a stretcher.

United had already lost fellow first-choice centre-back Varane to injury at half-time and his replacement Harry Maguire scored an unfortunate own goal in stoppage time.

When asked if he could provide an update on Martinez and Varane on Friday afternoon, Ten Hag shook his head and said, “Sorry, no.

Man United suffered a huge blow after Varane was injured in their 2-2 draw against Sevilla

“It’s not even 24 hours, so I don’t have a full diagnosis, so I can’t say right now.”

Ten Hag downplayed concerns that Martinez had suffered an Achilles tendon injury in Thursday’s post-game press conference, but was coy the following day when asked about reports that the defender had broken a metatarsal bone.

“I can’t say that at the moment,” said the United boss. “If we have news, we’ll tell you right away.

“But let’s do the medical treatment, do the assessment, do the full diagnosis, complete the diagnosis and then we’ll bring the news.”

“It’s not changing at the moment. I have an idea (what is is) but I am not causing speculation.’

Back-up centre-backs Maguire and Victor Lindelof will play an important role in the pair’s absence, adding to the injury list that includes Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Donny van de Beek.

Ten Hag hopes Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay can return to fitness at Forest, but even if they are not ready yet, the United boss underlined the importance of players in the squad going the extra mile.

“Every game is a fight, every game is a fight and you have to be ready for that fight,” he said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game.

‘We have a squad. I’ve said all season that we have more than 11 starters, so now there are others and when their time comes, you have to show and contribute to the team.

Lisandro Martinez was carried off the field by compatriots Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel

‘You must be ready. That’s what we expect, that’s what we demand.’

When asked if it might be difficult for some players to get into the squad because they haven’t played much, Ten Hag said: ‘I think you’re looking for excuses then.

“If you want to find excuses or make excuses then you don’t have to play for Manchester United and you have to look for another club.

‘You have to wait for your moment and when the moment comes you have to contribute, you have to perform and that is what we demand.’

United have no time to wallow as the Forest game is followed by the second leg against Sevilla and next Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.

There would have been less tension in the run-up to those cup clashes if the Red Devils had rightly extended their lead on Thursday and effectively eliminated the quarter-final.

The boss of the Red Devils insisted that his team can find no excuses despite their increasing injuries

Instead, they conceded a late equalizer after finishing with 10 men, as Ten Hag had made his allocated substitutions as Martinez went off.

The United manager defended his changes straight after the game and did so again on Friday, using a more colorful phrase to say everything is easier in hindsight.

“It’s easy (said afterwards),” said the Dutchman. “So in hindsight we call it where I’m from: “You’re looking at a cow in the a**”.

‘That’s what we call it in my region from the Netherlands. That’s easy, but if (a player) was sent off, you say to me, ‘Why don’t you take him off?’